President Dr. Irfaan Ali has confirmed that Guyana has engaged its international partners after a US-seized oil tanker was discovered fraudulently flying the Guyanese flag in the Indian Ocean.
“We have raised this with the international body, we have raised it with all other partners…. Here again is a fraudulent actor operating (under) our flag illegally,” President Ali told reporters on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the opening of the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel.
Earlier Thursday, Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) confirmed that the Majestic X oil tanker, seized by US forces, is not registered in Guyana and that its registration is false and fraudulent.
“This ship is NOT registered in Guyana; thus, the registration is false and fraudulent. While the name of the vessel has changed, the IMO number remains recorded in the international database as PHONIX. There is no record of this vessel or name in Guyana’s registry. Therefore, the ship is FRAUDULENTLY flying the Guyana flag,” MARAD said.
This is not the first instance of vessels falsely flying the Golden Arrowhead. MARAD noted that such incidents have been recognised since 2021, with perpetrators targeting several countries including Guyana, Panama and other regional states. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) publishes a list of all ships falsely flying the flags of member states.
MARAD said it and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continue to share information on false registrations with all United Nations maritime states and relevant regional and international maritime associations as soon as such cases come to their attention.
