Sammi Awuku questions GMA over MV Sankofa waiver and missing US$60,000
A US$60,000 gap between two official accounts of the same set of penalties is at the centre of fresh questions put to the Ghana Maritime Authority by the Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Hon. Sammi Awuku. In a statement issued on his Facebook page, the MP said GMA’s own inspection report on the vessel […]
The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) is facing scrutiny over a discrepancy in penalties assessed against the MV Sankofa vessel. In his Facebook statement, MP Hon. Sammi Awuku raised questions about the missing US$60,000 difference between GMA's own inspection report on the vessel and the Authority's response to a Right to Information request dated 12 June 2026.
The GMA response cited a figure of US$79,200, but Hon. Awuku pointed out that the inspection report itself stated a total of US$139,200 in pollution-related penalties. The Authority's explanation for the difference has yet to be provided. Additionally, the MP highlighted a larger issue surrounding the waiver of an initial US$1 million penalty imposed on the vessel.
He noted that the vessel was intercepted by the Ghana Navy in July 2025 with its Automatic Identification System disabled and lacked crucial documentation, including fourteen statutory certificates and key record books. São Tomé and Príncipe, whose flag the vessel falsely claimed, denied ever registering it. The Authority ultimately deemed the vessel unsuitable for sea travel.
Hon. Awuku demanded answers regarding the legal basis for the waiver and a full reconciliation of the pollution-related penalties, requesting them from the Minister for Transport and the GMA Governing Board. He also expressed concern about the vessel's movements, stating that it left Ghana on 14 November 2025 under Cameroonian registration and was later detained in Senegal amid a drug investigation, allegedly flying the Ghanaian flag. "The public deserves clear answers," the MP emphasized.
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