Senegal National Maritime Administration: 47 fishing vessels reflagged into the national registry since 2020, active fishing fleet stands at 187 vessels

Tiofane Ndiaye Dramé, Director of the Maritime Safety and Marine Pollution Prevention Division at Senegal's National Maritime Affairs Agency (Anam), said that since 2020 a total of 47 fishing vessels have obtained the Senegalese national flag through the reflagging procedure after completing "Senegalization" formalities. The vessels' previous flag states include China, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Norway and the United States, among others.

On fleet size, Dramé gave the figure of 187 vessels on Senegal's ship register as the active fishing fleet at the relevant statistical reference point. "Active" status is determined mainly on the basis of the periodic renewal of vessel safety and navigation certificates, as well as administrative formalities demonstrating that the vessel is actually in operation. By origin, almost all vessels in this fleet were transferred from foreign flags to the Senegalese flag.

On the naturalization review, Dramé detailed the verification procedure prior to reflagging. Consideration of an application is subject to a precondition: the applicant must prove that the vessel has access rights to the fishing grounds where it intends to operate, and this right must be evidenced by a fishing licence or at least a licence commitment letter; without this right, the case file cannot be opened. On this basis, the competent authority conducts both an administrative and a technical review, including checks on whether the vessel meets safety standards and marine pollution prevention rules.

The administrative review focuses on the "substantial link" between the vessel and the Senegalese flag, judged on the basis of the vessel's actual ownership and control. Dramé said the competent department specifically examines: the company's articles of association, the subscription and paid-up status of registered capital, the composition of the board of directors, the identity of the company's officers, and the documents for the purchase or construction of the vessel.

The vessel's historical trajectory can be traced. Dramé confirmed that documentary checks can establish the vessel's previous flag, the chain of successive owners, the type of operation, safety certificates and the flags it has previously flown. She also noted that such declared information does not preclude additional verification by the competent authority, particularly where fraud or false declaration is suspected.

On improving transparency, Dramé proposed several areas for improvement. She believes that the vessel's past fishing operation history should be made a separate element of consideration and submitted, together with the licence application, to the advisory committee on fishing licence issuance. She also recommended that the International Maritime Organization (OMI) number be used universally as the unique and permanent identifier for industrial fishing vessels and linked to the IMO's Gisis system, so as to make information on vessels applying for naturalization more reliable and secure. In addition, she said it is necessary to review the conditions for issuing nationality certificates to fishing vessels in order to ensure that the substantial link between vessel and flag is genuine and effective.

The above was reported and written by Babacar Guèye DIOP and published on 13 October 2026.