Specialist maritime courts and council to be set up

The National Transport Authority is aiming modernise the existing marine laws of the country with an updated version expected by end of next year. New specialised marine courts and councils are hoped to be set up which can deal with all marine related issues.

ABU DHABI // The federal National Transport Authority has announced plans to modernise the country’s maritime laws.

Among the suggested changes and improvements was the establishment of new maritime courts and a council designed to deal with legal matters and international laws.

The court, hoped to be built in Dubai, will have English as a working language, with rules based on British maritime laws.

Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works and chairman of the NTA, said: “The UAE marine laws were formed in 1981 and now we are in the process of updating the law.

“There might be new outcomes due to organisations and anything that has been ignored at that time due to the fact of technology that has been introduced later. We will include it,” he said.

The UAE’s ports, which are among the busiest in the world, deal with a huge number of shipments passing through the emirates, Mr Al Nuaimi said.

It is this huge amount of traffic that has led to calls for an update to the existing laws, in cooperation with all of the government entities.

To achieve this, the authority will form a technical maritime council at the federal level, which will include members from the public and private sectors, Mr Al Nuaimi said.

“We are not in the process of renovating the law, but updating it just to suit the current status.”

He stressed the need for coordination with all government ministries such as labour, health, finance, environment and justice, which all have a strong link with the maritime industry.

He said the Labour Ministry could offer support with residency laws for workers who were employed in the maritime industry; the Ministry of Justice could provide specialised help to work with international maritime laws; and the Health Ministry could certify health, hygiene and ships and imports.

The authority also chalked out Emiratisation plans for the maritime sector, adding that it was considered an important logistics field at a time when most Arab countries lack professionals and experts in the maritime sector.

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the NTA hopes to encourage institutions to provide technical diplomas and degrees in more maritime fields.

The authority said that it was already in talks with the Ministry of Higher Education about technical maritime programmes at the Higher Colleges of Technology, with a view to expanding the scope of their training.

“There is nothing wrong with the existing laws, we just want to upgrade them,” Mr Al Nuaimi said.

“There is already a marine law but we probably add to it what we feel hasn’t been covered.”

He said changes could involve minor amendments or new laws altogether.

“If they are small and are covered within any specific item of the law, then it would be an amendment that would take very little time,” he said.

“But if we have to go back to the law and add to it, then the process generally takes from eight to 12 months.”

Plans have been set out with the Central Bank to attract investors for the maritime sector and to provide work insurance as well, the chairman said.