Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government has confirmed that a vessel seized by the El Salvador navy on February 15, 2026, was registered under the Zanzibar Maritime Authority through an agency known as Conarina. Speaking on Thursday, February 26, 2026, government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said the Zanzibar Maritime Authority has taken several measures, including the deregistration of the ship.
El Salvador’s navy announced the largest drug seizure in the country’s history after intercepting the vesse—FMS Eagle, about 704 kilometers southwest of its Pacific coast in international waters. Confirming the incident on Monday, February 16, 2026, Nayib Bukele stated that the drugs were worth USD 165 million.
“The vessel is 180 feet long (54 meters), registered under the flag of Tanzania, Africa, and was carrying in hidden compartments 330 packages equivalent to 6.6 tons of cocaine, with an approximate value of $165 million,” Bukele wrote on X. “On board the vessel were 10 drug traffickers: 4 Colombians, 3 Nicaraguans, 2 Panamanians, and 1 Ecuadorian,” he added.
Speaking to Tanzanian reporters on Thursday, Msigwa said the government has taken several steps including revocation of the-registration of the ship in question.
“On the ship that was seized in El Salvador. Yes, it is true that we received this information, and after reviewing our records, we found that it is a ship that was registered in Zanzibar. Our colleagues registered the ship through an agent called Conarina,” Msigwa told reporters.
“The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has taken the following actions. First, after receiving the information on the 17th of this month (February), on the 18th of February, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar canceled the registration of that ship,” he added.
Msigwa further explained that the Zanzibar Maritime Authority had attempted to contact the company involved, but the communication was unsuccessful. He noted that authorities fined the shipping company USD 20,000 and had begun reviewing all registration agents used by Zanzibar.
Flag State Crisis
This is not the first Tanzanian-flagged vessel to be seized carrying illegal substances. On October 26, 2025, Spanish police announced the seizure of 6.5 tons of cocaine from a Tanzanian-flagged vessel. Similarly, on October 4, 2024, another cargo ship flying the Tanzanian flag was seized with 3.28 tons of cocaine in the Canary Islands.
Ships registered by Zanzibar Maritime Authority has also been noted in use by countries in efforts to evade sanctions such as by entities linked with North Korea.
On January 19, 2018, the then President of Tanzania, the late John Pombe Magufuli, ordered a halt to the registration of foreign ships and directed authorities to investigate all vessels already registered.
“It is unacceptable that our country continues to be tarnished internationally every day. In just a short period of time, five ships have already been seized. These ships are flying the Tanzanian flag, and they deliberately use old, worn-out vessels so that even if they are seized, they don’t care, but they are flying Tanzanian flags,” Magufuli said while addressing staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Starting from today, no licenses should be issued to any ship until this matter is fully resolved. There are currently 470 ships that have already been granted registration. All of them must be vetted by all state security organs. Any ship that is found to have a tendency or intention to transport drugs or explosives must have its license revoked immediately,” he added.
Tanzania’s maritime sector is governed by two legal instruments: the Merchant Shipping Act and the Maritime Transport Act, which apply exclusively to the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar.
Since maritime matters are non-union issues, the mainland registry is administered by the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC), while Zanzibar’s registry is managed by the Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA) through provisions under the Maritime Transport Act.
The Merchant Shipping Act does not permit an open registry system; existing foreign vessels have been registered through the Zanzibar Maritime Authority. While Zanzibar considers ship registration an important source of revenue, studies show that the lack of proper control and coordination mechanisms has led to significant challenges, particularly the hosting of substandard vessels.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Zanzibar Maritime Authority reported registering more than 800 international ships. However, Tanzania’s flag is currently ranked as high risk by all major global maritime control bodies.
The Paris MOU, comprising 27 participating maritime authorities and the European Commission, has classified Tanzania as a “very high-risk” flag state, placing it among only three countries worldwide in that category, alongside Moldova and Cameroon.
The Tokyo MOU, representing over 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, ranks Tanzania as the second-highest risk-performing flag state after Cameroon. The US Coast Guard also places Tanzania in the high-risk category, along with Bolivia, Curaçao, Vanuatu, Comoros, Latvia, and Togo.
Being listed negatively by three separate port inspection regimes makes Tanzania one of the worst-performing flag states globally, alongside Togo and Belize. Tanzania is also reported to be the second-highest country globally in cases of seafarer abandonment, after Panama.
In addition to country reputation damage, high-risk classification increases the cost of doing business for ships registered under the Tanzanian flag. Several studies have recommended that Tanzania establish a coordination mechanism for its ship registry system between Zanzibar and the Tanzania mainland so as to rectify existing reputation damage.
