Sammi Awuku questions Ghana Maritime Authority over MV Sankofa waiver and US$60,000 discrepancy

Awuku stated that the GMA's inspection report indicated penalties of US$139,200, while a Right to Information response from June 12, 2026, cited US$79,200, a difference he says remains unexplained. He also questioned the GMA's decision to waive a US$1 million statutory penalty initially imposed on the vessel. The GMA explained the waiver by stating a later inspection found no evidence the MV Sankofa had been trading in Ghana.

However, Awuku noted the vessel was intercepted by the Ghana Navy off Axim on July 22, 2025, with its Automatic Identification System switched off. A GMA inspection report from July 27, 2025, found numerous missing statutory certificates, an absent oil record book, a garbage record book, and a sewage holding tank. São Tomé and Príncipe denied registering the vessel, and the Authority concluded it was not seaworthy.

Awuku plans to write to the Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, and the GMA Governing Board, requesting the legal basis for the waiver and a full reconciliation of the pollution penalties. The vessel reportedly left Ghana on November 14, 2025, under Cameroonian registration, and was later detained in Senegal in connection with a drug investigation, reportedly flying the Ghanaian flag.