In a bid to end the imbalance that has characterized international trade as a result of conflicting legal regimes on international carriage of goods by sea, West and Central African nations are pushing for the ratification of a United Nations convention, which they see as more beneficial than the two others now in force.
The UN convention on contracts for the international carriage of goods wholly or partly by sea, otherwise known as the Rotterdam rules, they say is preferred to the Hague and Hamburg Rules, which are the subsisting legal frameworks for international shipping operations.
Hassan Bello, executive secretary of Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), speaking at the validation colloquium on the UN convention on contracts for the international carriers of goods wholly or partly by sea on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that Nigeria needs to play a lead role for ratification of the rules noting that it will boost her international trade.
Currently, only Togo, Congo and Spain have ratified the UN-backed Rotterdam Rules, which seek to create a uniform set of standards that provide fairness and balance of risks between carriers and cargo owners.
The Hague is noted to deal with the problem of ship owners regularly excluding themselves from all liabilities for loss or damage to cargo, while Hamburg rule is favoured by developing nations who are largely cargo owners.
“The benefit of adopting a modern convention is that it will take care of our inland shippers and our inland infrastructures like the dry ports. It comes under this very convention and if we as importing and the nation suffer loss, we will have more compensation from this regime than any other convention that is operational and that is why it is good for Nigeria and Africa to adopt and ratify this convention, the NSC boss explained.
According to him, Nigeria leading other African countries negotiated the convention which has addressed shortfall noticed in other conventions adding that the process of ratification will be set in motion by the ministry of transportation and NSC.
Represented by the permanent secretary, Sabiu Zakari, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, regretted that the adoption and application of the conflicting legal regimes by different countries as dictated by national interests has continued to pose many significant challenges to shipping and international trade.
He however, expressed optimism that the rules have addressed perceived imbalance in previous conventions, with developing nations making spirited effort at securing a better deal under it with a view to providing necessary relieve in event of claims arising in future carriage contracts.
The minister further explained that the benefits of the rules cannot be quantified considering the vast hinterland of Nigeria and the need for speedy evacuation of cargo from ports.
Also speaking, Ndahi Auta, Chief Judge, Federal High Court of Nigeria, on behalf of the two regions pledged to support all efforts aimed at promoting trade as a way of encouraging inflow of foreign direct investment.
“This will boost our foreign reserves, strengthen our currency and translate into a better standard of living, reduce the current high cost of living and move us out of the current economic problems”, Auta said.
