THE Maritime Law Association of Tanzania has come out in support of a government directive suspending registration of new merchant ships, but calls for establishment of a maritime safety authority to regulate and supervise ships flying the flag of United Republic.
Prof Costa Mahalu, president of the Law Association of Tanzania told a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the Authority would be responsible for registration, inspection and enforcement of the laws governing maritime affairs on both sides of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Flanked by advocate Capt Ibrahim Bendera, a seasoned mariner and maritime law expert, Prof Mahalu cited the laws in question as the Merchant Shipping Act, 2003 of Mainland Tanzania and Maritime Transport Act, 2006 of Zanzibar. “The authority, or maritime safety association, would exercise control over all ships flying the national flag and all foreign ships within our waters,” he said.
He added that ships flying the Zanzibar flag plying the waters within the United Republic of Tanzania would continue to be registered by the Isles Maritime Authority. “ …. The association would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and praise our president and the vice-president for the most welcome act of ordering an investigation in the form of revisiting the ship’s registration process,” Prof Mahalu said.
He explained that such move would avoid the current troubling situation brought about by the two pieces of legislations which regulate maritime activities separately on the basis of the Tanzanian Maritime Flag.
“One legislation issues flags of convenience while the other does not … , leading to ships carrying our flag to either conduct criminal activities or face sanctions of the UN Security Council, like what happened in Iran in 2012 and North Korea in 2015,” the law professor disclosed.
He also pointed out that the “president’s directives will lead to a solution from this embarrassing situation,” and that his own association was aware that the First Schedule of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977, does not list maritime affairs as a Union affair.
That way, Zanzibar conducts its maritime activities, in particular, registration of foreign ships quite independently. Ships registered at the Isles registry and which plywithin the waters of the United Republic of Tanzania fly the flag of Zanzibar.
Prof Mahalu further argued that the Zanzibar Maritime Transport Act provides for two types of registries; one for ships that fly the Zanzibar flag and the other for ships that cannot use the Zanzibar flag and are, thus, registered to fly the maritime flag of the United Republic.
In order for ship to ply the high seas, he said, section 60 and 61 of the Zanzibar Maritime Transport Act provide for the use of the flag of the United Republic of Tanzania, indicating the nationality and therefore, the sovereignty of the United Republic.
“It may be argued that by doing so, maritime affairs in Zanzibar automatically become Union matters. Zanzibar is not a subject of international maritime law but the United Republic of Tanzania is.
It is only a subject of international maritime law that is given right to own maritime flag as attribution to its sovereignty,” he said. Capt Bendera further cited the availability of two different laws, Law of Fishing Act of Tanzania Mainland and that of Zanzibar, which were operating under one established Deep Sea Fishing Authority.
“Why not on maritime authority?” he queried. Under Article 90 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, only sovereign states are allowed to sail ships flying their flag in the high seas.
On January 19, 2018, President John Magufuli issued directives to ministers responsible of maritime affairs, at both Union and Zanzibar levels. The directives aimed at stopping the registration with immediate effect the new merchant ships, usually done at the port registries of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, effectively granting the vessels the Tanzanian Nationality.
These directives were additional to earlier orders from Vice- President Samia Suluhu Hassan following incidences of vessels flying the maritime flag of Tanzania being caught with or being involved in drugs or illegal shipment of arms in overseas waters. The act was in clear violation of the International Law, thus tarnishing the image of the sovereign state of Tanzania in the International Community.
Maritime Law Association of Tanzania was established for purposes of disseminating information on maritime activities as well as educating maritime laws to interested parties and participating in maritime activities taking place within the United Republic of Tanzania. From September 25, 2017, MLAT became a member of the Committee Maritime International (CMI), effectively representing the affairs of United Republic globally.
