Ghana tops West, Central Africa in maritime safety oversight

Mr Mubarick Masawudu (middle) receiving the award at the programme jpg

Ghana has emerged as the top-performing country in West and Central Africa in maritime safety enforcement after recording the highest proportion of vessel safety violations detected in the sub-region.

The recognition was announced at the 16th Port State Control Committee Meeting of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), held recently in Libreville, Gabon.

According to official data from the Abuja MoU, Ghanaian inspectors detected compliance failures on 129 of the 288 vessels inspected at the country’s ports in 2025, representing nearly 45 per cent, with a total of 645 individual deficiencies recorded.

The figure contributed significantly to the 1,571 maritime deficiencies recorded across the sub-region during the year.

The Abuja MoU coordinates Port State Control procedures among West and Central African countries to prevent unsafe and non-compliant vessels from operating within their territorial waters.

The awards scheme, introduced at the 15th Committee Meeting, recognises member States for promoting gender balance, meeting inspection commitments and recording the highest proportion of vessel deficiencies detected over three years.

Ghana’s performance has remained strong over the period, with 168 inspections conducted in 2023, resulting in 579 deficiencies across 98 vessels, representing a detection rate of 58.3 per cent.

In 2024, the country conducted 233 inspections, identifying 513 deficiencies across 100 vessels, while in 2025, inspections increased to 288.

Despite the achievement, the report identified gaps in inspection coverage. Ghana’s commercial seaports recorded 2,108 ship calls in 2025, comprising 1,691 at Tema and 417 at Takoradi.

Of the 1,112 vessels eligible for inspection, only 289 were boarded, leaving 823 uninspected due to operational constraints.

Tema recorded 110 inspections, detecting deficiencies in 80 vessels, while Takoradi conducted 179 inspections, identifying 49 deficient vessels and 176 deficiencies.

The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) also identified shortages of qualified personnel, inadequate training, corruption risks and gaps in offshore inspection and advance vessel tracking.

The report recommended digital integration tools, including the Maritime Single Window, to improve pre-arrival risk assessment and vessel monitoring.

The Deputy Director-General of the GMA, Mr Mubarick Masawudu, said the recognition demonstrated the professionalism, integrity and transparency of the country’s inspection regime.

He noted that the authority had recruited additional qualified personnel to strengthen inspection teams at Tema and Takoradi, and introduced targeted training programmes.

On gender inclusion, he indicated that a qualified female officer had been recruited for training as a Port State Control Inspector, with plans to recruit more women.

He commended the inspectors for refusing to issue clean inspection reports to vessels that failed to meet safety standards, adding that the next goal was to extend the same level of scrutiny to every eligible vessel calling at Ghana’s ports.

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