Ghana Maritime Authority Office in Accra

The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has strongly denied recent allegations of corruption involving staff of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA).

According to the organization, these accusations come from disgruntled flight attendants whose licenses have been revoked for various violations and are “baseless” and “baseless.”

In a press release dated October 22, 2024, IEAG said that GMA plays a crucial role in regulating local ship manning agencies to ensure compliance with maritime laws.

The association pointed out that several recruitment agencies were charging exorbitant fees to trained seafarers to facilitate their employment on foreign ships, despite already receiving payments from shipowners.

“It is important to note that many of these recruitment agencies charge exorbitant fees to trained seafarers in exchange for facilitating their recruitment and employment on foreign ships – actions that directly contravene maritime laws.

“Although these agencies receive monthly payments from the ship owner/principal for each seafarer placed on board a ship, they continue to extort money from the crew, which is a blatant violation of the laws .

“Investigations carried out by the GMA, together with reports from seafarers, foreign missions, global maritime institutions and a recent BBC documentary, reveal that some Ghanaian recruitment agents charge prospective seafarers between GHS 30,000 and GHS 50,000” , indicates the press release.

Additionally, some agents were caught bailing seafarers by accepting post-dated checks, further violating maritime laws.

The statement added that the GMA has taken punitive measures against these unethical practices, penalizing first-time offenders and revoking the licenses of repeat offenders.

IEAG condemned the false allegations propagated by these failed agents, saying: “The Ghana Importers and Exporters Association condemns these malicious allegations and urges the public to ignore them. »

The association called on all stakeholders to support the GMA in its efforts to maintain the integrity of Ghana’s maritime sector for the greater benefit of the nation.

ID/MA

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