Another country added to UAE’s banned ships list

Ships flying the Cameroon flag have been barred from entering UAE waters following an official circular released by officials at the start of this month.

The African nation has now joined Albania, Belize, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe, Tonga, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania in facing similar restrictions.

In a circular dated 2 January, 2024; the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure informed all ports authorities, harbor masters, ship-owners, managers, operators, ship agents and classification societies about the ban. A similar notice also appeared on the Port of Fujairah website.

“Within the framework of the UAE Federal Maritime Administration (FMA) represented by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, responsible for regulating the foreign ships operations in the UAE waters and ports, this administration has decided to include the vessels registered under the flag state of ‘Republic of Cameroon’ to the existing list of restricted flag State vessels calling UAE waters and ports, unless they are classified by a member of IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) Class or by the Emirates Classification Society – Tasneef,” said the ministry.

“Accordingly, all the maritime companies and ship agents in UAE are hereby requested not to provide the services to those vessels that are not complying with this circular to avoid legal accountability,” the ministry added.

Growing global crackdown

While a full explanation from the UAE has not been provided, there is an increasing global crackdown on shadow tankers operating outside the regulatory framework of shipping industries across the globe.

According to The Maritime Executive, Cameroon, in particular, has developed a reputation in recent years for having a shadow fleet.

“Cameroon has received attention as a haven for the shadow fleet as the operations of these vessels grew in response to the bans by the West on Russian oil exports. Historically vessels registered in Cameroon have been linked to other oil smuggling operations notably including Iran and Venezuela,” reported The Maritime Executive.