Nigeria Ratifies Global
Treaty On Maritime Wrecks
Nigeria
has signed the international convention on wrecks
removal from navigable ways to boost safety in the
maritime industry.
Once domesticated, government could freely enforce
the law, clearing its channels of wrecks in line
with global standards.
According to President Yar Adua while signing the
treaty, article 18 of the convention shall come into
force 12 months after the parties signed the treaty.
Its provisions
It provides the legal basis for states to remove
ship wrecks that may have the potentials to
adversely affect the safety of lives, goods and
property at sea and the maritime environment.
It provides the first set of uniform international
rules aimed at ensuring the prompt and effective
removal of shipwrecks located beyond the territorial
sea. It makes ship owners financially liable for the
removal of their wrecked vessels and made it
mandatory for them to insure them.
The instrument of ratification of the convention was
first signed by maritime nations in Nairobi, Kenya
in 2007.
Shipwrecks affect smooth navigation of waters by
vessels and small boats on the arteries and the high
seas.
The number of abandoned shipwrecks in Nigeria,
especially along the Lagos-Bonny channel, is
estimated at over 200.
Newspaper/Qasim/Yinka