Government-ECTN concession: A redundant service and its adverse consequences

By: Dawda Colley

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, on 26 February 2026, notified stakeholders in the maritime transport ecosystem about the reintroduction of the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN), which came into effect on 5 January 2026, following Cabinet approval. This decision, as reported, was part of the Concession Agreement signed between the Global Tracking and Maritime Solutions (GTMS) and the Government of The Gambia on a 60% to 40% revenue sharing basis.

The ECTN was first introduced on 15 May 2023, with leading shipping agencies like Maersk Line (G) and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), notifying their customers through an advisory dated on 15 June 2023 about its introduction and applicability, including cargoes on transit to neighbouring countries such as Senegal, Bissau, Conakry, and Mali; and export cargoes from The Gambia.

This was met with public disapproval, especially from the major consignees (importers) and the Association of Clearing & Forwarding Agents, simply because of the widely held belief that its introduction would not only increase the cost of doing business at Banjul Port, but also increase commodity prices in the market, undermine the comparative advantage of Banjul Port, divert more domestic cargoes to Dakar Port, and discourage existing and potential transit cargo operators from utilising the Port of Banjul as a transit point.

Since its disapproval in 2023, ECTN has been on a hiatus, but maintaining a physical presence in the Port without enforcing charges.

Although the proposed 2026 ECTN tariff reflects a reduction in charges for containerised cargo compared to the initial 2023 rates, the reintroduction of the ECTN has also led to the imposition of new charges. These include fees on saloon cars, SUVs, and heavy-duty vehicles (trucks) discharged from Ro-Ro vessels, as well as on bulk cargo such as rice, sugar, wheat, and basalt. Furthermore, all export 20-foot containers (TEUs) will now be subject to ECTN charges, as outlined in the tables below:

According to a communique from the Concessionaire (GTMS), ECTN is an internationally recognised cargo monitoring mechanism designed to enhance maritime security, cargo visibility, and trade transparency across global shipping routes.

GTMS further states that, this initiative (concession) supports the Gambia’s commitments to:
I.  Strengthening national security and cargo traceability,
II. Improve trade facilitation and port  efficiency,
III. Enhancing regulatory oversight of cargo entering the country,
IV.  Aligning with international best practices.

Let’s examine and understand how the abovementioned were being handled prior to the introduction and reintroduction of ECTN at Banjul Port.

I. National security and cargo traceability
a. National Security: The Port of Banjul is a very crucial node in our country’s international trade endeavors, handling over 80% of goods traded in the country. As such, this makes the Port susceptible to illegal and counterfeit goods. To address this vulnerability, the Government of the Gambia made the conscious decision by deploying key security agencies at the seaport. This includes The Gambia Police Force, State Intelligence Services, Gambia Immigration Department, Gambia Armed Forces, Food Safety and Quality Authority, coupled with a private company Nick TC Scan to mitigate the threats of illegal and counterfeit goods entering the country by sea.

Furthermore, the Gambia Maritime Administration handles all port state control functions of the Government in relation to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Marine Pollution (MARPOL), and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) to ensure safety, security, pollution prevention, and crew living conditions of all vessels calling at the Port of Banjul. To bolster Port safety and security, the Gambia Ports Authority also has a designated Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO) to ensure the port meets the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code protocols and requirements.

b. Cargo traceability: Cargo tracking from port of loading to port of discharge is a free-of-charge service that all container shipping lines operating in The Gambia offer to their customers using the bill of lading (BL) or container number. Below are the container tracking sites of all container Shipping Agencies operating in the country:

Maersk Line, https://www.maersk.com/tracking/; MSC, https://www.msc.com/en/track-a-shipment; CMACGM, https://www.cma-cgm.com/ebusiness/tracking; OBT/WACA Gambia, https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/online-business/track/track-by-container-solution.html.

Additionally, vessel location around the globe can be traced through ”vessel finder search engine” https://www.vesselfinder.com/. Furthermore, all vessel calling at the Port of Banjul must provide vessel arrival notification documents such as notice of arrival (NOA), pre-arrival notification, vessel and cargo details (vessel name, voyage, flag, IMO number, call sign, last & next port of call, and cargo description); and the regulatory documents such as crew list, passenger list, cargo manifest, and dangerous goods declaration, if any. These documents are shared with all relevant government institutions before any vessel secures a berth, coupled with the necessary security protocols to be carried out.

II. Trade facilitation and port efficiency:

The understanding of trade facilitation policy or project (as the case may be for ECTN) in the port should simplify, harmonise, modernize, and enhance transparency in service delivery at the Port. The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) have already invested in digitizing their systems to support this initiative.

The GRA utilises systems such as ASYCUDA World, the Single Window platform, and E-Tracking for transit containers to ensure compliance and improve efficiency in the processing and clearance of goods. The GPA, on the other hand, operates systems including the Port Management Information System (PMIS), the Vessel Traffic System (VTS), which regulates and coordinates vessel movements while enhancing safety, efficiency, and environmental protection in maritime navigation, and the Shore Handling System, which facilitates cargo payment and delivery processes. These systems have enabled GRA to achieve its yearly targets, including last year’s target of GMD 23 billion, and the GPA, despite all odds and challenges over the years, has performed well, consistently paying annual dividends to the government in recent years. With the coming of Alport Banjul, a terminal operating system is envisioned to greatly enhance sea and shore-side operations.

On port efficiency, Alport Banjul as the terminal operator of Banjul Port is the only institution with prerogative, machinery, and technical know-how to enhance port efficiency. Since its inception, Alport Banjul has registered significant strides in port efficiency, reducing vessel turnaround to 72 hours on average and cargo dwell time to 6 days on average.

III. Regulatory oversight of cargo entering the country:

As stated above, the GMA, GRA, GPA, and FSQA are created by Acts of Parliament and mandated to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country and thereby ensuring that goods entering the country through the seaport are legal and safe for the citizens and people residing in The Gambia. So, the frameworks are already in place, and these institutions have not done a bad job over the years, albeit the need for improvement on certain aspects of their operations is required to strengthen their capacities.

IV. Aligning with international best practices:

The Gambia has domesticated many international maritime transport and trade standards such as SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, Port Communication and Single Window promulgated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) aimed to improve, coordinate, and harmonize port operations, management, and activities meant to promote, facilitate, and accelerate international and regional maritime trade.

Meanwhile, it is apparently clear that Gambia government through its institutions and agencies at the port carries out all the functions contracted to the GTMS, highlighting the fact that the concession is both duplication of effort and unnecessary, to say the least.

The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question it invokes on any curious mind is, how could the Global Tracking & Maritime Solutions (GTMS) support the Government differently in strengthening national security and cargo traceability, improve trade facilitation and port efficiency, enhancing regulatory oversight of cargo entering the country, and aligning with international best practices without duplication of effort and additional cost to consignees with no significant value?

Having closely observed the activities of ECTN during their brief stint (operations) at Banjul Port in 2023 and having held several discussions with dozens of clearing and forwarding agents who made payments on behalf of their consignees to GTMS during the same timeframe, the following negative consequences are inevitable, if Government of The Gambia continues to sleepwalk into this concession agreement with total disregard and indifference to existing functional frameworks in place, as well as the daily realities of our commodity market.