(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroonian authorities withdrew the national flag from the vessel Freedom 7 on Oct. 22, citing allegations of illegal fishing. The ship had been registered under the Cameroonian flag since 2021, according to a Ministry of Transport document seen by Business in Cameroon.
International organizations that monitor illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing report that the Freedom 7, built in Japan in 1973, has changed its name 15 times and is currently owned by a company based in Hong Kong. The vessel has been on international lists for illegal activity since 2006 and has operated under several flags, including those of Panama, Cambodia, Togo and Tanzania. It was recently spotted in the port of Shidao in China flying the Cameroonian flag, even though it appears on the European Union list of vessels involved in illicit practices.
The decision comes as Cameroon faces increased scrutiny. The country received a red card from the European Union in 2023 for weak oversight of its flag registry and has since attempted to clean up its records. Another vessel sailing under the Cameroonian flag was removed from the registry in August for illegal activity at sea.
The withdrawal of the Freedom 7’s flag is part of a broader effort to restore confidence in the Cameroonian registry following the EU sanctions. Achieving this goal will require more than removing individual vessels. It will involve stricter checks during registration, closer cooperation with international databases that identify high-risk ships, and more effective port and maritime controls to stop the flag-hopping practices used by industrial fishing operators.
Ludovic Amara
