Benin

Benin is a West African state with a port at Cotonou on the Gulf of Guinea. Its maritime administration operates a limited ship registry primarily serving regional trade.

How to Verify

Benin does not currently operate a public online vessel verification portal.

1. Contact the administration directly

Reach the Direction Générale des Affaires Maritimes (DGAM) through contact details obtained via GISIS or the IMO directly. Do not rely on contact details listed on any third-party site or sourced from the document under review.

2. Cross-reference the vessel’s IMO number

Verify the flag state listed against the IMO ship register. A vessel claiming Beninese registration should appear there with Benin listed as the flag state.

3. Domain check

Benin’s maritime authority does not operate under the beninmaritime.* domain family. Any site using that naming is not the official administration.

4. Red flags

• Certificate lists an email at a free email provider
• The issuing authority’s website uses a .com, .org, or .net domain
• The certificate cannot be confirmed through direct contact with DGAM

Known Fraudulent Sites

Three sites impersonating the Benin maritime authority have been identified, all hosted at the same IP address (195.201.78.211) and attributed to the Pandas network:

• beninmaritime.org
• beninmaritime.co
• beninmaritime.net

None are affiliated with the Beninese government.