Somalia Mandates Vessels To Fly National Flag Under New Maritime Regulations

Somalia has introduced new maritime laws to enhance control over vessel movements in its territorial waters.

The announcement by the state-owned Somalia National News Agency(SONNA) is an essential step by the Somalian government to reestablish its control along one of Africa’s longest coastlines.

Under the new law, all vessels entering or operating in Somali national waters are required to fly the Somali flag. Ships transiting Somali waters are also required to notify the country’s maritime authorities and comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Ports and Marine Transport.

The initiative aims to reform Somalia’s maritime governance, which has been neglected since the collapse of the central government in 1991.

The new laws came as Somalia attempted to revive its maritime sector, which had been under-regulated since its maritime law was last updated in 1989.

Decades of civil unrest have left Somalia’s coastline vulnerable to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, resulting in an estimated $300 million per year.

Somalia intends to implement stricter rules to reduce IUU fishing and other illegal activities, including piracy and toxic waste dumping.

The implementation of these maritime directives coincides with escalating geopolitical tensions in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-declared independent region of Somalia, signed an agreement granting Ethiopia access to the Berbera port in the Gulf of Aden.

Ethiopian vessels using Berbera are not required to fly the Somali flag since Somaliland refuses to recognize Mogadishu’s authority, which could lead to problems with the recently implemented maritime laws from the central government of Somalia.

Somalia and Turkey signed a defense and economic agreement earlier this year to improve their maritime capabilities. The deal includes provisions for Turkey to train and equip the Somali navy, allowing the country to better combat terrorism, piracy, illegal fishing, and other maritime threats.

Despite international efforts to reduce piracy in the region, recent incidents indicate an upsurge. Somali pirates hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulker Ruen in December 2023, marking the first successful capture of a commercial ship off Somalia since 2017. The incident, along with earlier attacks on small fishing boats and large merchant vessels, exposes Somalia’s continuous security issues along its coastline.

Authorities in Puntland, a semi-autonomous area in northeastern Somalia, recently seized multiple drones believed to be associated with Al-Shabaab or ISIS. The identification of these drones, smuggled through Bosaso port, shows an increase in the techniques used by terrorist groups operating in the area.

In June, U.S. intelligence warned of a potential partnership between Al-Shabaab and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have targeted merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden. This partnership could further complicate Somalia’s efforts to safeguard its maritime borders.

In response to these threats, the European Union’s EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission, formed in 2008 to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, has refocused its efforts.

Reference: balitangmarino

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Source: Maritime Shipping News