Ghana has backed a major reform at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that will require all 175 member states to undergo mandatory maritime safety audits every seven years, transforming a previously voluntary compliance programme into a legally binding global standard.
The reform aims to ensure countries enforce international shipping regulations consistently, reducing disparities in maritime safety standards and preventing nations from gaining competitive advantages by weakening oversight.
Speaking during the ongoing IMO Council session in London, Ghana’s Alternate Permanent Representative (APR), Dr Evans Ago Tetteh, welcomed the completion of the first cycle of audits under the International Maritime Organization Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), saying the process had strengthened national maritime governance and improved global compliance.
IMSAS was introduced in 2016 to assess how effectively countries implement international maritime conventions. Under the previous voluntary system, participation and enforcement differed significantly among nations, creating uneven safety standards across global shipping routes.
The new mandatory framework requires every IMO member state, including Ghana, to undergo institutionalised reviews using the IMO Instruments Implementation Code, a global benchmark that measures countries’ ability to regulate their maritime sectors.
The assessment covers four major areas: national maritime strategy and institutional capacity, responsibilities as a flag state, oversight of foreign vessels as a port state, and coastal state obligations such as search-and-rescue systems, navigation infrastructure and maritime safety services.
For Ghana, which relies heavily on maritime trade through ports including Tema and Takoradi, stronger international compliance standards could support shipping reliability and improve confidence among global trade partners.
Dr Tetteh said Ghana supports the IMO’s move toward technology-driven monitoring, describing a proposed continuous digital monitoring platform as a significant development that would allow countries to identify weaknesses before formal audits rather than waiting for periodic reviews.
“Effective implementation cannot be achieved through audits alone. It demands sustained national commitment, resilient institutions, and a fierce determination to translate audit findings into meaningful, lasting improvements on the ground,” Dr Tetteh said.
Ghana also endorsed a risk-based approach to future maritime assessments, allowing the IMO to direct greater attention and resources toward countries that record weaker performance during previous audits.
Beyond regulatory reforms, Ghana called for broader participation in maritime governance, encouraging member states to increase the recruitment of women and young professionals into the international pool of shipping audit experts.
The country’s support for the reforms comes as global shipping faces growing pressure to improve safety, transparency and regulatory consistency amid rising trade volumes and increasing complexity in maritime operations.
The Ghanaian delegation at the IMO Council session also expressed condolences to Venezuela following a recent earthquake that caused widespread devastation in the South American country.
