22 January 2013

Africa: The Need for a Sea Change in Africa's Coastal Laws

Photo: Daniel Hayduck/IRIN
A crew member prepares to board a tanker.



The African Union (AU) is in the concluding stages of fashioning an African 'cabotage' regime to ensure that only African-owned vessels can trade within the continent's coastal waters.


Colonialism and cabotage

The history of maritime trading within Africa's coastal waters, particularly sub-Sahara, is one of foreign domination and exploitation. From four centuries ago, European vessels traversed African coastal waters, hauling human cargo from Africa to Europe and the Americas.

From the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company set several trading vessels to sail along the rocky shoreline of the Cape. The huge profits from the trade, coupled with the region's good weather, however, turned what began as a trading mission into a permanent settlement. In the following centuries native Africans suffered oppression, segregation and eventually apartheid.



At sea over cabotage laws



The African situation contrasts sharply with other parts of the world where regulations govern the domestic transport of cargo by foreign-registered vessels. In China, for example, the Maritime Code states that "shipping and towage services between the ports of the People's Republic of China shall be undertaken by ships flying the national flag of the People's Republic of China".

While in the US, federal law demands that all "goods transported by water between US ports should be carried in US-flag ships, constructed in the US, possessed by US citizens, and crewed by US citizens (75% at least)". India's cabotage regulations ensure that coastal trade is strictly restricted to Indian flag-bearing vessels, as this "contributes significantly to India's economic growth".

Africa's maritime economy has been estimated at around $1 trillion a year, accounting for over 90% of the region's entire commerce, and 38 out of Africa's 54 countries have coastlines.

But since Independence, African countries have mostly foregone economic advantages by allowing foreign vessels unfettered access to the continent's coastal waters. Although a few individual African countries such as Nigeria have cabotage laws, these are difficult to implement due to inadequate infrastructure, a lack of skilled manpower, and high operating costs.

A sea change in African law



But beyond the euphoria of the AU's declaration of independence for African coastal waters, there are sobering points that must be immediately addressed for an African cabotage regime to be successful.

Issues of operating costs, adequate infrastructure and capacity come to the fore; of the world's cargo-carrying fleet of 55,138 as of 2011, for example, African countries combined own less than 5%. Any implementation strategies must be critically considered and strong enforcement mechanisms instituted well before take-off.

The AU should study others' cabotage laws, but be wary of imitating them. Africa has been in the habit of copying other nations to its detriment. The temptation could be to copy the Indian model, for instance, where foreign shipping companies can buy 100% into Indian subsidiaries, and be allowed to fly Indian flags to operate in the country's coastal waters. There are several disadvantages and loopholes in this approach, and it could prove practically unmanageable in Africa.

Essentially, the upcoming African cabotage law is a significant leap towards realising Africa's economic independence. The law, when it comes into force, should prove to be a major unifying factor in the continent's drive towards a more united economic and geopolitical bloc.


Chika Ezeanya blogs at www.chikaforafrica.com. Her book Before We Set Sail was shortlisted for the Penguin Publishers Award for African Writing.

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Sea Change in Africa's Coastal Laws Needed

A crew member prepares to board a tanker.

The African Union's plan to introduce cabotage laws restricting foreign vessels in African coastal waters could be a major step towards economic independence, writes Think Africa ... Read more »