By Omar Bah
Government has ordered the termination of a contract that allowed the Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA) to delegate vessel registration to a Cyprus-based company, MDIR Services Ltd.
The contract had transferred the authority to register ships under the Gambian flag to MDIR through its subsidiary, Gambia International Ship Registry (GISR). The arrangement raised serious concerns about transparency, conflict of interest and governance within the GMA after allegations surfaced that the daughter of the GMA director general is the regional manager representing GISR in The Gambia.
The contract granted MDIR extensive powers, including issuing and revoking licenses and certificates for vessels and crew and collecting user fees.
However inside sources queried that the decision was made without proper consultation with the GMA board and that it also allegedly lacked competitive bidding.
The outsourcing also coincided with a dramatic increase in Gambian-flagged vessels, especially oil and gas tankers, many of which are reportedly subject to international sanctions, further complicating the maritime administration’s credibility.
Following internal opposition, including from the GMA’s former registrar of ships who was allegedly reassigned after opposing the outsourcing, the government moved to end the contract to regain control over the maritime registry and address the governance issues raised by the arrangement.
“Following the submission of the report of the Board Sub-committee and the advisory from the Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) which pointed out the specific anomalies of the contract between Gambia Maritime Administration (GNMA) and MDIR Company Ltd in Cyprus, be kindly informed that the Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure has instructed for you to initiate the termination of the said contract without any delay,” the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure said in a letter to GMA, seen by The Standard.
The instruction, the ministry added, “is premised on the advisory by MoJ that international/open registry is in violation of the Merchant Shipping Act 2013, the Gambia Maritime Administration Act 2006, Public Financial Management Act 2014 and The Gambia Public Procurement Act.
“In light of the above, you are urged to engage MDIR to formally cease all management and registration of vessels in the name of the Gambia as a matter of urgency,” the ministry said.
The termination aims to safeguard the country’s maritime interests from the regulatory and reputational risks posed by the previous outsourcing to a foreign entity.
