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From Uche Usim, Abuja
As Nigeria and other African nations work towards more cohesive and profitable maritime business, the federal government has said the ratification of the Rotterdam Rules was one of the ways of realizing the ambition that would give the continent the competitive edge in shipping.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello said this at the weekend in Yaounde, Cameroon while presenting a paper at an international colloqium on the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and Arbitration in Africa.
According to him, the Rotterdam Rules, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its 63rd session on December 11, 2008 is hinged on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea.
The document addresses the lapses inherent in older conventions like the Harter Act, Hague and Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules.
“This forms what I would like to refer to as the unique features of the Rotterdam Rules because it seeks to codify trends in modern commerce. Notable among these are; carriage beyond the sea leg or multi-modalism (door-to-door delivery of goods); Electronic alternative to transport document, obligations and liabilities of maritime performing party; rights of the controlling party; and transfer of rights. This is great for Africa”, he said.
Bello however, lamented that despite the usefulness of the convention, its poor ratification profile was beginning to erode the hope of operating a more unified, more balanced and modern carriage regime.
“Nigeria and many other African countries joined in signing the convention on 23rd September, 2009 and it was agreed that the Rules will come into force one year after ratification by 20 nations. There are 25 signatories to the convention. So far, only three countries have ratified the convention, namely Congo, Spain and Togo. Others are still considering ratifying the Rules. We need to ratify it as quickly as possible”, he said.
The NSC boss explained that a significant aspect of the Rotterdam Rules was that the original signatories to the convention are a mixture of developed and developing countries including Nigeria, strong ship-owning and traditional cargo interest nations, or what one may call traditional carrier and shipper nations.
“That was indeed a good prospect for the convention. It is, in a way, a testimony to the balanced nature of the convention”, he added.
On government’s efforts to boost maritime transport, Bello disclosed that the Transportation Ministry has begun aggressive reforms in the sector by creating an enabling environment for the private sector to come in
