Nigeria makes case for ratification of maritime trade rules

Nigeria's Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

 

Nigeria and other countries in the Central and West Africa sub-region have been urged to ratify and domesticate the Rotterdam Rules to resolve the imbalance in international maritime trade.

The Rules, adopted at the 2009 Convention, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands are the latest of all international convention on carriage of goods by sea.

Speaking yesterday at the Validation Colloquium organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, in collaboration with Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in Abuja, Amaechi, who was represented by his Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Sabiu Zakari, said the Rotterdam Rules addressed the imbalance between the Hague-Visby Rules of 1924 and the Hamburg Rules of 1972, and urged Nigeria and other countries in Central and the West Africa sub-region to domesticate the law.

He said there was need for the Federal Government and the National Assembly to ratify and domesticate the Rules because of the immense benefits to the economy, including provision of higher level of compensation to cargo owners in case of loss or damage to cargo, a well as speedy evacuation of cargo from the sea ports.

 

Copyright 2016 Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.



Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.