Maritime legal awareness in our country is still in its infancy.  The reason for this phenomenon is that we are yet to initiate and incentivise maritime legal education in our academic institutions.  Discourse and debate needs to be initiated in our schools and universities about the prevailing issues in the maritime sector.  Young students should be made aware of the persisting problems pertaining to coastal communities, seafarers, marine pollution, ocean governance, maritime domain awareness and various other related issues.

Whilst a dedicated workforce of maritime legal professionals is required to support maritime cluster ecosystem, they need to be acquainted with a bird’s eye overview of the maritime domain.

Seafarers

For a serving seafarer, it is vital to know about the prevailing maritime laws and regulations. For example, if an accident occurs on-board a vessel or the vessel is involved in a collision accident, the first responders are the crew on-board the vessel(s).

For a seafarer who has taken up an on-shore assignment, it is important that she/he must be well versed with prevailing maritime legal regulations/directives/customs in the jurisdiction in which they are operating.  This will aid him in his day-to-day official work as well as help him to broaden his horizons of understanding of the international maritime trade and commerce.  For example, a Marine Superintendent who engages in manning and crewing of vessels must be well acquainted with the Maritime Labour Convention as well as the local laws which pertain to labour regulations in that jurisdiction.  This is just one of the examples amongst a plethora of necessary requirements that aid and abet smooth functioning of global maritime operations.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Professionals

With the advent of technology, global supply chain management has witnessed a tectonic shift in its intrinsic operational domain.  However, with the COVID19 pandemic concretising its position globally, supply chains across the world are grappling with negative effects of this pandemic. Therefore, knowledge of laws and regulations pertaining to international trade as well that of the particular country is vital for professionals working in the logistics and supply-chain management sectors.  For example, with cases of forged bills of lading being witnessed on a frequent basis, it is vitally important to know about the laws and regulations pertaining to bills of lading and their execution.  This will equip the professionals handling bills of lading to be extra cautious whilst they are executing commercial transactions vis-a-vis the bills of lading.

Young Law Students, Fresh Law Graduates and Practicing Lawyers

Maritime Law Practice and Consultancy is a very niche area of law.  It is quite specific in its approach and therefore young law students, fresh law graduates and practicing lawyers who wish to stand out of the crowd, should certainly opt for a career in this domain. When maritime law practitioners are “called” to the Bar of any Judicial Forum/Court/Tribunal and they commence their law practice, they contribute in enriching the existing maritime law jurisprudence of the country’s legal system.

The maritime industry is replete with challenges.  It has its own style of operation which, to an untrained mind, will come across as full of eccentricities and technicalities.  However, with proper training, guidance and some amount of handholding, the sailing will surely become a smooth one.

Marex Media