The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), in collaboration with the Ghana Navy and Marine Police, has destroyed about 20 wooden boats used in smuggling fuel by burning them into ashes at the Sekondi Naval Base.

These boats, known as ‘dendey’ in the coastal areas of the country, were constructed purposely for illegal bunkering activities – which have become a national security threat as well as causing loss of revenue to the state.

Speaking in an interview with the B&FT, Daniel Appianim – Deputy Director General, Technical/Operation of GMA, said under the Ghana Shipping Acts 2003, any design of vessel or boat has to get permission from the GMA before building the vessel and subsequently provide progress reports.

“These boats do not conform to the shipping standard as required. Before you do bunkering, you need to inform us so that we also inform other authorities because the transfer of oil has a lot of implications in terms of pollution and other risks. We realised that we have a lot of these boats going about and doing illicit activities on the sea,” he said.

He pointed out that anytime the GMA tries to apprehend them they run away and leave the boat.

“After confiscating these boats, we did a lot of publications so that the owners could come forward, identify themselves, sit with us to thrash out the issue – but they did not show up. So, we decided to destroy them to try letting it serve as a deterrent to others; as well to serve as a warning out there that perpetrators who continue in these illegal activities will be made to face the law,” Mr. Appianim added.

He mentioned that this exercise has been going on for some months now, and the perpetrators have realised that GMA and other security agencies are not going to give up on them. “We are still going to collaborate with the security agencies to ensure that as part of controlling the waters their activity is curbed,” he concluded.