By Daniel Bampoe
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North and former Director-General of the National Lottery Authority, Sammi Awuku, has intensified his scrutiny of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) over the handling of the vessel MV Sankofa, questioning how a statutory penalty of US$1 million imposed on the vessel was subsequently waived despite serious deficiencies recorded during an inspection.
Sammi Awuku, who has previously raised concerns over the vessel’s movements through Ghanaian waters and its subsequent detention in Senegal in connection with a drug investigation, has now presented a detailed account of what he describes as significant inconsistencies requiring further investigation.
According to the MP, the Ghana Navy intercepted MV Sankofa off Axim on 22 July 2025 after its Automatic Identification System (AIS) had been switched off. The AIS is a key maritime tracking system used to identify vessels and monitor their movements, making its reported shutdown a regulatory concern.
Five days later, on 27 July 2025, the GMA conducted an inspection which, according to Sammi Awuku, uncovered serious deficiencies on board the vessel. He said the inspection report recorded the absence of 14 statutory certificates, as well as the lack of an oil record book, garbage record book and sewage holding tank.
The MP further claimed that the vessel’s purported flag state, São Tomé and Príncipe, denied ever registering the vessel. The combination of documentation and uncertainty surrounding the vessel’s registration reportedly led the GMA to conclude that MV Sankofa was not seaworthy.
Sammi Awuku said the GMA initially imposed a US$1 million statutory penalty, payable in its Ghana cedi equivalent. However, the penalty was subsequently waived after the Authority reportedly explained that a later inspection had found no evidence that the vessel had been trading in Ghana.
It is this decision that has now become the central focus of Awuku’s latest intervention.
The Akuapem North MP argues that whether MV Sankofa was engaged in commercial trading in Ghana does not, by itself, answer the broader regulatory questions surrounding the vessel. He wants the GMA to disclose the legal basis under which the vessel entered the country’s maritime space, reportedly proceeded to Tema Fishing Harbour and later moved to Tema Anchorage.
Sammi Awuku also questioned the circumstances under which the vessel was eventually permitted to leave Ghanaian waters, arguing that authorities must establish precisely what clearance, authorisation or legal status enabled the vessel to undertake those movements.
He further challenged what he described as the possible use of “innocent passage” as a justification for the vessel’s presence in Ghanaian waters. According to him, international maritime principles require innocent passage to be continuous and expeditious, while stopping or anchoring is permitted only under specified circumstances.
If the vessel was operating in Ghana under another form of clearance or authorisation, Awuku says the GMA must identify that legal basis and provide the relevant documentation.
Another major issue raised by the MP concerns the decision to waive the US$1 million penalty. He is demanding an explanation of why such a substantial sanction was withdrawn despite the findings contained in the original inspection report and the uncertainty surrounding the vessel’s registration.
The controversy deepened further, according to Awuku, when MV Sankofa was allowed to leave Ghana on 14 November 2025, reportedly under Cameroonian registration. The vessel was subsequently detained in Senegal in connection with a drug investigation and was reportedly flying the Ghanaian flag at the time.
That development, he argues, makes it even more important for Ghanaian authorities to establish the vessel’s precise registration history and the circumstances surrounding its departure from Ghana.
He has also identified what he describes as another discrepancy in official records concerning pollution-related penalties.
He says the GMA’s inspection report placed the pollution-related penalties at US$139,200, while an RTI response issued by the Authority on 12 June 2026 reportedly gave the figure as US$79,200. The difference of US$60,000, he argues, requires a clear reconciliation.
The MP is therefore demanding answers to three central questions: what precise legal opinion, decision or authority justified the waiver of the US$1 million penalty; what accounts for the US$60,000 discrepancy in the pollution-related penalties; and who authorised the vessel’s departure on November 14, 2025, based on what evidence that its seaworthiness, pollution-control and registration deficiencies had been resolved.
Awuku Escalates Matter to Transport Ministry and GMA, Board
The lawmaker says he intends to take the matter beyond his correspondence with the GMA.
According to Sammi Awuku, he will write to the Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, who has ministerial responsibility for the sector, as well as the governing board of the Ghana Maritime Authority.
Among the documents and information he intends to request are the legal opinion, board decision or other authority supporting the waiver of the US$1 million penalty; a complete reconciliation of the pollution-related penalties; the identity and office of the official who authorised the vessel’s departure; and the inspection and clearance records relied upon before MV Sankofa was allowed to sail.
The MP also intends to engage the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over the matter, arguing that questions surrounding a vessel’s purported flag registration have implications extending beyond the territorial waters.
He maintains that where a vessel claims to operate under the flag of a country that subsequently denies granting that registration, the circumstances deserve international regulatory attention, particularly given the importance of flag-state verification in maritime safety and security.
The MP’s intervention comes against a wider background of concern over the vessel after its reported detention in Senegal in connection with a drug investigation. He had previously sought information from the GMA under the Right to Information framework concerning the vessel’s entry into Ghana, its flag status, alleged regulatory violations, enforcement action, penalties and the circumstances under which it was allowed to depart.
The GMA has previously defended its operations, maintaining that its activities, including vessel registration, are conducted in accordance with Ghanaian law and international maritime standards. The Authority has also stated that it respects Parliament’s oversight mandate and is prepared to provide information if formally invited by the House.
He argues that the issue is not merely about one vessel but about the integrity of Ghana’s maritime regulatory system and the country’s international reputation.
“Ghana cannot shrug at this and then wonder why its flag reportedly appears on a vessel detained in a drug investigation in Dakar,” Sammi Awuku said.
He insists that the public deserves transparency over every stage of the vessel’s encounter with Ghanaian authorities, from its interception and inspection to the imposition and subsequent waiver of penalties and its eventual departure.
The next phase of the matter is therefore expected to shift from social media exchanges and public commentary to formal requests for documentation from the Transport Ministry, the GMA governing board and, potentially, international maritime authorities.
