Legal specialists lament delay in maritime policy feedback

The SA maritime legal fraternity is disturbed that the draft maritime policy – on which the Maritime Law Association (MLA) was rushed to comment before the end of last October – has silently disappeared onto the maw of the department of transport. “We remain concerned at the lack of feedback from the DoT,” Andrew Robinson, MLA president and maritime legal specialist at Durban attorneys, Deneys Reitz, told FTW, “but we intend taking this up with the department before the end of this month.” The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) – which is handling the creation of the white paper on maritime policy for the DoT – told Robinson that there was a process to be followed. “According to the legal adviser to Samsa, the white paper is about to be completed and it is in its final stages. I understand about 10 responses were received, but I am not sure who they were – apart from the MLA and SA Master Mariners Society. “He also mentioned a meeting with the department of transport this month to discuss the policy with them – and to ensure that the white paper did not contradict the department’s policy.” At the same time, the MLA was informed that Samsa and the department were also to discuss direction given by the cabinet on the policy. “As soon as they have met with the department and have discussed these two matters, they will be in a better position to state exactly how far they are with the policy,” said Robinson. The problem, he reckoned, was what he termed “a massive logjam” of statutory matters clogging up the departmental works. “We need to break that up,” he said. One of the issues that must now be discussed, Robinson added, is the need to review the policy in the light of current market trends. “The draft policy stressed the development of SA ship-owning,” he said. “But that’s not a good market at the moment, with 453 container ships currently sitting idle.” That policy aim was also one that Tony Norton of Garlicke & Bousfield and chairman of the National Port Users Forum (NPUF) questioned when FTW originally spoke to him on the issue. “It’s really part of an old debate,” he told FTW, “with some saying that protectionist measures (as suggested in the draft policy) will interfere with a cheap, free flow of trade – all in order to build a national fleet.” These two elements may not be compatible and proper economic research needs to be conducted, he added.