By Omar Bah
The managing director of the Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA), Karamo Janneh, has reportedly outsourced the registration of vessels to a company in Cyprus, which appointed his daughter as its representative in The Gambia.
MDIR Services Ltd is a private limited liability company incorporated in Cyprus and has its operational offices at Theodorou Potamianos 56, Limassol, 4155, Cyprus. According to the GMA, the company has knowledge, experience, and expertise in the maritime industry, and its scope of professional services includes providing and managing international ship registries.
The letter addressed to the company by the GMA DG and seen by The Standard, read: “Pursuant to the Director General’s powers under Section 5 and Section 16 of the Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA) Act, 2003, we are pleased to inform you that through MDIR, GISR LTD is hereby appointed as the International Ship Registry for The Gambia.”
It added that under the provisions of the Gambia Merchant Shipping Act, 2013, all powers and authorities of the Registrar of Shipping and Seafarers, including the authority to register all types of ship, pleasure yachts, crafts, MoDUs, and other floating structures under the Flag of The Gambia (excluding those solely intended for local, national, or coastal trading), are delegated to Mr Theodoros Michael, CEO of MDIR, representative of GISR Ltd.
Under Article 6 of the agreement, the Cypriot company is entitled to charge and collect user fees in consideration of the services to be provided.
The contract also highlighted that the registrar has the authority to delegate the registration of ships under the flag of The Gambia as well as operate any other relevant issues, activities, and functions by the national and international laws adopted by The Gambia.
Consequently, MDIR set up a new company, Gambia International Ship Registry (GISR), to operate and execute all duties, authority, and functions of the registrar delegated to MDIR including running the international ship registry with relevant services by the agreement and national legislations.
Under Article 3 of the agreement, MDIR is empowered to issue, revoke, suspend, or withdraw licences, certificates, permits, attestations, and documents on behalf of the registrar in relation to any officers or other crew members engaged on board vessels under the flag of The Gambia.
Under the agreement, should the MDIR wish, it will together with the registrar, represent The Gambia in relevant IMO meetings regarding safety, prevention of pollution, and flag state matters.
Appointment of DG Janneh’s daughter
Bintou Janneh, GMA DG’s daughter, who was implicated in the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) multimillion dalasi corruption scandal and suspended, has been appointed by the Cypriot company as its regional representative overseeing The Gambia.
Her appointment letter sent to her father stated: “With this communication, we are pleased to inform you that Ms Bintou KB Janneh has been officially appointed as the regional manager of GISR in The Gambia. In this capacity, Ms Janneh with her extensive and valuable knowledge and experience will serve as the local representative of GISR and the primary liaison between GISR and GMA, facilitating communication and coordination as per the GISR’s directives, ensuring compliance with maritime regulations, and supporting the development, promotion, and growth of GISR…”
Due process not followed
The move has raised concerns about transparency and implications for the country’s maritime sector.
A senior member of the GMA board of directors informed The Standard that the board was not consulted during the process of discussing the awarding of the contract.
“We were only consulted when it was time to sign the agreement, which some of us refused to sign, but despite that, the DG went ahead with it,” the source alleged. The source further alleged that there was no competitive bidding.
“… [A]nd the fact that the DG’s daughter is representing the company in The Gambia raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability.”
Implications
A senior maritime expert who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity, pointed out that delegating vessel registration to a foreign entity could limit The Gambia’s control over its maritime registry and compliance with international maritime laws.
“While Cyprus offers cost-effective registration, The Gambia may lose potential revenue from managing its ship registry.”
The source argued that outsourcing vessel registration without competitive bidding or public scrutiny could raise questions about governance and accountability within the GMA.
“The move might affect the credibility of The Gambia’s Maritime Administration in international maritime circles. Further investigation into this decision and its long-term effects on The Gambia’s maritime sector is warranted,” he advised.
The Gambia went from having no tankers flying its flag in 2023 to 35 oil and gas tankers by mid-March 2025 in a growth fuelled by an injection of tankers and gas carriers involved in sanctioned commodity trades.
International maritime experts believe that nearly 99% of these tankers are under US, UK, or EU sanctions or are involved in sanctioned oil and gas trades.
The Gambia’s fleet has increased to nearly 3.6 million (DWT) deadweight tonnage which is how much weight a ship can carry as of March 19, 2025, from 26,665 dwt at the end of 2023, thanks to the gambit. However, more than half of that capacity is currently designated under US, UK, or EU sanctions, or a combination of them.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence statistics, the registry ended 2024 at slightly over 800,000 dwt, with almost 2.8 million of the new tonnage acquired since the year started.
Redeployment of GMA registrar of ships
In 2024, the former managing director of the Gambia Ferries Services GFS, Lamin Jawara was redeployed to the GMA as director registrar of ships following weeks of administrative leave.
According to our sources, Mr Jawara was redesignated to another department following his disapproval of the DG’s decision to contract MDIR to take over the registration of ships, a function dedicated to his office.
The letter addressed to Mr Jawara informing him about his designation and obtained by The Standard reads: “Sequel to the departure of Director of Shipping and Maritime Service Providers on secondment to Negmar, you are hereby informed that a board decision is reached for your redesignation and redeployment to the Department of Shipping and Maritime Service Providers as director.”
Reactions
When contacted for his reactions, GMA Director General Karamo Janneh referred us to his lawyer, Oli Danso, who confirmed the awarding of the contract to MDIR and that due process was followed.
Asked to respond to allegations that the Gambia Maritime Administration Board was not consulted, Lawyer Danso responded: “We would appreciate it if you could provide the source of this information before we can proceed with answering your question.”
On what prompted the decision to award the contract to the Cypriot company, Lawyer Danso added: “The board expressed concerns in 2019 regarding the absence of single convention vessels on our registry since the inception of GMA. In 2022, the administration began the process of developing an international registry, and several applications have since been received.”
Asked to respond to suggestions that the GMA registrar’s office performed exceptionally well last year, successfully registering vessels worth over D20,000,000 but the management refused to include it in the GMA’s financial accounts, the lawyer said: “We would appreciate it if you could provide the source of this information before we can proceed with answering your question.”
Commenting on the appointment of DG Janneh’s daughter, Lawyer Danso argued: “As the legal adviser for GMA, I can only address matters that concern GMA. You may ask the employee or the employer (MDIR). GMA has no control over whom they employ to facilitate their work. Hope this answers your questions.”
