Stakeholders submit comments on maritime policy

Stakeholders in the maritime industry have submitted their comments on the draft maritime policy to the department of transport (DoT). “It’s not designed as a challenge,” said Andrew Robinson, maritime lawyer at Deneys Reitz, and president of the Maritime Law Association (MLA) – which is responsible for compiling all the submissions from the various maritime industry players. “We’re trying to assist in creating a streamlined policy, which will be to the benefit of all the parties involved.” Of the bulky draft policy, the MLA has concentrated on 15 pages relevant to industry members. “That’s about 40 policy statements, so our comments are equally wordy,” Robinson added. And only about 20% of the draft is “somewhat contentious”, according to Tony Norton of Garlicke & Bousfield and chairman of the National Port Users Forum (NPUF). The department of transport, he told FTW, has suggested certain protectionist mechanisms, but they have left them open for discussion with the maritime industry stakeholders, and they will only be finalised once the stakeholders have had their say. “It’s really part of an old debate,” said Norton, “with some saying that protectionist measures will interfere with a cheap, freeflow 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.