‘It’s Not Going to Be Business as Usual’ — CIMAG Welcomes Ghana’s New Anti-Piracy Law

By: Samuel Asamoah

Ghana’s new Maritime and Related Offences Act, 2026 has been hailed as a game-changing intervention that could fundamentally alter the country’s fight against piracy, robbery at sea and other maritime crimes.

Executive Director of the Centre for International Maritime Affairs, Ghana (CIMAG), Albert Derrick Fiatui, says the legislation gives Ghana’s maritime security agencies something they have lacked for years — the legal teeth to act.

Fiatui described the law as one of the most decisive decisions on maritime security taken by a Ghanaian government in the past 20 years.

“This is one of the most decisive decisions taken by any President on the issues of maritime security in the last 20 years,” he said.

He commended President John Dramani Mahama for assenting to the legislation, saying its impact could extend beyond security to Ghana’s trade and investment.

For years, Ghana’s maritime security architecture faced a major weakness: security agencies could apprehend suspects, but the absence of a dedicated domestic maritime offences law complicated prosecution.

The CIMAG boss said that legal vacuum gave maritime criminals an advantage.

The new legislation, he said, changes that equation by providing both law enforcement agencies and the judiciary with a clear statutory foundation for dealing with maritime offenders.

“Now that we can say that we have moved away from moral persuasion to legal action, they have something that they can use to bite,” he said.

His message to offenders is unequivocal: the old operating environment is changing.

“It’s not going to be business as usual,” he added.

Fiatui said Ghana’s maritime security agencies have not been waiting idly for the legislation.

According to him, significant investments have already been made in equipping and preparing security personnel responsible for protecting Ghana’s maritime domain.

“What was left was a law to back their action,” he said.

With that legal backing now in place, he expects enforcement agencies to move quickly against piracy and other maritime crimes.

Fiatui believes the significance of the law goes beyond catching pirates.

Ghana’s economy is heavily dependent on international trade, with the country’s ports and maritime sector serving as critical gateways for imports, exports and regional commerce.

He said a stronger maritime security environment would enhance confidence among international businesses and potentially attract more investment into Ghana and the wider West African maritime economy.

“It has opened up not just Ghana, but the sub-region for a lot of international trade and more businesses,” he said.

He argued that businesses cannot thrive where vessels, cargo, fishing communities and seafarers face persistent security threats.

The intervention also comes against the backdrop of longstanding maritime security concerns in the Gulf of Guinea.

Fiatui stressed that the region has historically been a major hotspot for piracy and other attacks at sea, making effective national legislation an important component of the wider regional security response.

He said Ghana’s security agencies have increasingly been equipped to respond to threats at sea, but enforcement requires a strong legal foundation.

The new law, he believes, provides that foundation.

The Maritime and Related Offences Act is intended to prohibit and criminalise piracy, robbery at sea and other maritime-related offences while strengthening the legal basis for investigation, arrest, prosecution and punishment.

For CIMAG, its enactment represents the closing of a loophole that has persisted for too long.

Fiatui is now expecting enforcement to follow legislation.

And his warning to maritime criminals is clear: Ghana’s waters are no longer an enforcement grey zone.