Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah speaking at the event
CHIEF JUSTICE Kwasi Anin Yeboah says it is imperative for Justices of the Superior Courts to be abreast of maritime laws in order to effectively handle cases relating to the shipping, piracy and allied matters.
Speaking at the opening of the 13th Maritime Law Seminar for Superior Court Justices recently, the CJ said with pirate attacks being recorded in the Gulf of Guinea, ship arrests, judicial sale and distribution of proceeds would arise in adjudication.
“Therefore, my lords and lady justices would have to be well equipped to deal with these in a manner that would stimulate economic growth,” he said.
From an import and export throughput of about 15 million tons in 2014, the total throughput for the ports of Tema and Takoradi increased to about 20 million tons in 2019.
About 50 justices attended the two-day event, organised by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) and the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) to build their capacity on contemporary happenings in the industry.
They were taken through topics including Piracy and Terrorism; Bills of Landing and other documents in use in International Trade; Arrest of Ships, Judicial Sale and Distribution of Proceeds.
Justices of the Superior Court of Ghana listening to a presentation
Piracy Attacks
Justice Yeboah said Ghana have since last year recorded nine cases in its territorial waters out of which six were piracy attacks.
He said three occurrences took place between January and June this year while the attacks were mainly on ships transporting bulk petroleum and allied products as well as ships carrying exotic goods.
He acknowledged the recent call by President Akufo-Addo for concerted efforts between West African leaders to deal with the growing threats since these could affect maritime trade.
He commended stakeholders in the industry for ensuring that more than 80 per cent of global trade was kept resolute despite the disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
GSA Chief Executive Officer Benonita Bismarck, said the contribution of maritime trade to the country’s economic development was critical, and with advancements in the sector to enhance ease of doing business, deliberate efforts were being done to ensure that players in the sector had clarity on legal procedures both locally and globally.
While highlighting the success chalked by the introduction of the Integrated Customs Management System and Paperless Port Clearance System, she said uncleared cargo list and administration and management was a challenge to the shipping sector.
She said through the advocacy of the GSA, a committee had been set up by the Transport Ministry to resolve the issues including the uncleared consignments of state institutions which had been at the ports for about three years.
Ms Bismarck said the authority was also working with other stakeholders to streamline charges at the ports and reduce the cost of shipping.