Akuapem North MP questions why Ghana Maritime Authority waived US$1 million penalty for MV Sankofa

GMA initially imposed the statutory penalty of US$1 million in its cedi equivalent, the MP said, but later waived it on the basis that a subsequent inspection found no evidence the vessel had been trading in Ghana.

Sammi Awuku, has called on the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) to disclose the legal basis on which it waived a US$1 million penalty imposed on the vessel MV Sankofa, describing the Authority’s explanation so far as inadequate.

The MP put three questions to the Authority: the precise legal basis, opinion or decision that authorised the waiver; the explanation for a US$60,000 discrepancy in pollution-related penalties between the inspection report and a GMA response under the Right to Information Act; and the identity of the officer who authorised the vessel’s departure from Ghana on 14 November 2025.