The revelation that the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) quietly waived one million dollars ($1,000, 000) statutory penalty initially imposed on MV Sankofa, a vessel arrested for multiple safety, pollution, and certification breaches, is drawing fury at the state entity in-charge of enforcing maritime laws, controlling waste management, ports, vessels, and the marine environment.
Maritime operators, compliance experts, and civil society groups, have taken umbrage, grumbling that such an unexplained waiver poses significant threat to the credibility of Ghana’s Port State Control (PSC) regime.
The story is that MV Sankofa was intercepted by the Ghana Navy on 18 July 2025, during a routine maritime patrol south of Axim, in the western region. After its arrest, the vessel was transferred to the GMA for a full Port State Control (PSC) inspection, the mandatory process for verifying compliance with global conventions such as SOLAS, MARPOL, and STCW.
Inspection records, however showed that the vessel was flagged for nine major deficiencies, including: suspected illegal commercial activity in Ghana’s territorial waters-the basis for a $1 million administrative penalty, forged registration documents, in breach of Flag State certification rules, crew onboard without valid Certificates of Competency (CoC), violating the STCW Convention, absence of a sewage holding tank, in breach of MARPOL Annex IV and lack of a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) required under MARPOL Annex I, no oil record book, a mandatory log for documenting all oil-related operations.
These violations rendered the MV Sankofa as a “substandard ship”, requiring immediate detention until all deficiencies were corrected and penalties settled.
The GMA accordingly imposed $1,058,000 in fines plus GHc154,800 in statutory charges.
Documents reviewed by this paper however showed that the vessel’s owners, Atlantic Factorial Company Limited, applied for a waiver of the penalties. While the GMA rejected a second waiver request in a letter dated 28 October 2025, the same letter failed to explain the Authority’s earlier decision to remove approximately $1 million from the original fine.
What is most alarming to industry observers is that, by the admission of senior officials, no written documentation exists explaining the basis for the waive, even though internal GMA policy mandates written justification for every enforcement decision to support transparency, audits, and legal defensibility.
Speaking to the media, Captain Derrick Attachie, Acting Director of Technical at the GMA, stated that: “The $1,000,000 was tied exclusively to the suspicion of illegal trading. After further investigation, the charge could not be sustained, so the penalty was waived.”
He further admitted that the Authority deliberately “did not put the explanation in writing,” because it “would not have been appropriate to send such a letter to the company.”
This has intensified concerns about the legitimacy of the administrative process.
Maritime compliance analysts, who wants to remain anonymous warned that the lack of documentation violates international enforcement norms and could damage Ghana’s standing under the Abuja MOU Port State Control regime.
A senior maritime compliance consultant, speaking anonymously, said: “A million-dollar waiver without a paper trail is highly irregular. PSC decisions must be traceable, defensible, and transparent. Anything less risks reputational damage to the Authority and the State.”
Civil society organisations have called for an immediate inquiry into the procedural basis for the waiver, whether the secondary investigation followed PSC protocols, why findings were delivered verbally rather than formally and whether external influence or pressure played a role.
In a detailed response, the GMA said the revised penalties now reflect only proven violations, not the original suspicions of illegal trading. According to the Authority:
The $1 million charge was dropped because “further investigation showed the vessel did not engage in commercial trading.”
Remaining penalties cover marine pollution violations, unlicensed crew, and missing safety documents—offenses “supported by firm evidence.”
A final waiver request was denied because the outstanding breaches were “undisputed and substantive.”
The Authority also disclosed that the company was owed $30,000 since 2022 for a denied permit application related to maritime security operations, which GMA said is a reserved function for the Ghana Navy.
Instead of issuing the refund, the Authority deducted the amount from the company’s liabilities, reducing the overall balance due.
The GMA defended its procedures, saying that “The vessel’s owners were invited for stakeholder engagements before penalties were served.”
Maritime experts fear that Ghana’s Port State Control system risks being perceived as inconsistent or vulnerable to influence.
