Somalia Finalises Shipping Code

Somalia has more than 3,300 km of coastline, the longest and perhaps the most geographically significant in the Horn of Africa, four main commercial seaports and about five minor ports.

But plagued by decades of civil war, a lot of effort is required to rebuild the sector, pointed out a press release form the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

IMO and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) have organized a workshop in Mogadishu, Somalia (25-27 August 2019) to finalize the much-awaited Somalia Shipping Code with the hope that it will be enacted in parliament.

The Somalia Shipping Code includes the necessary steps required to accede all key IMO treaties, enabling the country to meet its responsibilities in line with IMO instruments.

36 senior officials from the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) have received technical training to continue developing the Shipping Code with the view to establish a National Maritime Administration for Somalia.

The workshop was key in guiding and providing the necessary institutional infrastructure for the management and delivery of the international obligations necessary for the maritime sector to thrive in the region.