NorthStandard’s correspondent in Senegal has said that reports continued to come in of vessels facing fines imposed by the Senegalese customs authorities, with Dakar, the Senegalese capital, being a particular problem.
NorthStandard said that recent experience suggested the customs authorities’ findings reflect those stated in an earlier update, but with penalties being imposed based on a perceived misdeclaration of CO2 fire extinguishing media on board the calling vessels. To attempt mitigation in such cases, NorthStandard recommended that ships consider the option of declaring CO2 quantities in both number of bottles and weight.
In December 2023, the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) and the International Group of P&I Clubs jointly issued a country guide for vessels calling at ports in Senegal. Based on insights and expertise provided by MACN members, the guide gives an overview of the documents that are required by the authorities during the pre-port call, the inwards clearance, and the outwards clearance processes. It also gives examples of common challenges and practices.
In May last year it was reported that Customs fines over €1m were reported in situations regarding allegedly incorrect declarations of any property on the ship (including any apparent bunker shortages), crew and cargo.
At the time NorthStandard noted that the situation had become more challenging as the grounds on which fines were being levied were becoming increasingly diverse, and the amount of the fines imposed were reaching high levels.
