MOZAMBIQUE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Sara Alves Lourenço, Kenny Laisse and Caio de Mello Ferreira, VdA
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The main domestic law establishing the authori - ties of maritime courts in Mozambique is Law No 10/2022 of 7 July 2022 (“Law 10/2022”), which formally establishes the legal framework for the organisation, composition, operation and authorities of maritime courts. This law pro - vides that the maritime courts have maritime, river, lake and port jurisdiction in civil, criminal, commercial, misdemeanour and international maritime law matters. By an order dated 6 April 2023, the Supreme Court inaugurated the Mari - time Courts of Maputo City and Sofala and Nam - pula Provinces – all currently fully functional and operating. The most common maritime and shipping claims filed with the competent courts relate to colli - sions and disputes concerning cargo and mari - In Mozambique, port state control is exercised by the National Sea Institute ( Instituto Nacional do Mar, IP , or INAMAR), a public entity that has competence over all maritime matters in the country, as provided for in Decree No 88/2021 of 28 October 2021 and Resolution No 15/2022 of 19 September 2022, which approved INAMAR’s Organic Statute. In general, INAMAR is responsible for the fol - lowing: • the exercise of maritime authority in the areas of maritime, lake, fluvial jurisdiction and coastal zones, as well as in the domain of time claims (ship arrests). 1.2 Port State Control
maritime administration, safety and protec - tion; • the planning of maritime space and the public maritime domain of the coastal zone; • the supervision of activities in maritime, fluvial and lake areas, and the public maritime domain of the coastal zone, as well as com - pliance with standards regarding the protec - tion of marine and coastal ecosystems and the conditions of conservation and exploita - tion of marine conservation areas; • the development and implementation of measures ensuring the sustainable exploita - tion, conservation and preservation of aquatic ecosystems; and • the conducting and/or co-ordinating of search and rescue activities, as well as saving assets, in maritime, fluvial and lake areas, with the involvement of other relevant entities. Regarding marine casualties such as seafarers’ casualties and fatalities, grounding, pollution or wreck removal, INAMAR is responsible for the following, among others: • monitoring and supervising vessels and fixed and mobile platforms, in order to prevent and detect any pollution activities in the marine environment and inland waters, in co-ordina - tion with other relevant entities; • co-ordinating maritime search and rescue activities and the saving of property in mari - time, river and lake areas; • participating in the investigation of marine casualties and incidents as well as maritime infringement procedures; • inspecting and monitoring the handling of dangerous cargo, in co-ordination with other competent entities; • adopting measures for the prevention, control and combating of pollution of the marine environment from ships or other floating
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