The law of maritime liens has been a subject of great uncertainty for a long period of time and there has not been any unanimity in terms of certain aspect of this concept. Domestic law vary with regards to the recognition and enforcement of maritime liens. In an attempt to settle some of the uncertain aspects of maritime liens, three international conventions have been adopted to set out a universal list of maritime liens as well as to make uniform the mode of enforcing those maritime liens. The first attempt to achieve uniformity in the law of maritime liens was the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Maritime Liens and Mortgages 1926. However this convention did not receive acceptance in most jurisdictions. In 1967, a similar convention was formulated but like its predecessor, it was also not a success. The latest Convention was formulated in 1993 but despite the inclusion of seemingly attractive provisions in terms of ranking and classification of maritime claims, it also failed to get the required accessions and ratifications. This persistence by the international community in trying to regulate maritime liens serves as proof to show that admiralty law is faced with many challenges and inexplicable principles when it comes to maritime liens. This dissertation will grapple with what some may call a very old and distinct aspect of maritime liens, that is, its enforcement against buyers for value without notice. This aspect may very well be common with other types of liens but taking into consideration some of the reasoning behind its existence, perhaps the time has come to look into this issue. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Modern maritime piracy is cause for major concern around the world. Although there have been preventative measures deployed by maritime nations to counter the crime, there is a need to develop an efficient regime to prosecute pirates. The general modus operandi that is employed by arresting-vessels is a 'catch-and-release' procedure, which means that there are no further steps taken to bring these pirates to account for their crimes. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the main challenges that face domestic judicial systems in prosecuting pirates of the high seas. Chapter 1 of this Dissertation sets out the parameters of the study, followed by Chapter 2 which will detail current international instruments that specifically relate to the crime of maritime piracy. This would include an examination of the successes and shortcomings of the piracy provisions of UNCLOS Articles 1 00 - 107, the recent UNSC Resolutions, SUA, and the IMO as well as discuss the 1MB PRC and other Regional Agreements in place to counter piracy and provide for the successful prosecution of suspected pirates. Chapter 3 will focus on the prosecutorial problems dealing with the crime of piracy that face judicial bodies around the world. The Chapter will highlight and discuss the various political and human rights issues that have discouraged the majority of states from prosecuting suspected offenders of this crime, as well as their reluctance to exercise universal jurisdiction over piracy. In addition, the recent Kenyan ad hoc piracy tribunal decisions will be discussed in order to assess the lack of uniformity in the interpretation and application of international law piracy provisions as against domestic law. Chapter 4 examines the South African Law and Policies in place that counterpiracy, and also considers whether South Africa could exercise jurisdiction over piratical matters. Thereafter, Chapter 5 proposes recommendations that may be employed in order to bring about a much needed uniform approach to the successful prosecution of suspected pirates. Lastly, Chapter 6, shall comment and conclude on the findings of the previous chapters. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The Sea Transport Documents Act, 65 of 2000, was a remedial statute intended to provide a solution to the problem of title to sue under the contract of carriage evidenced by sea transport documents. At common law a contract of carriage is not transferable. The contract of carriage is ordinarily concluded between the shipper and the carrier. The consignee lacks title to sue yet in terms of international sale contracts on C.I.F and F.O.B terms the consignee would be the person who stood to suffer the loss as risk in the goods passes from seller to buyer when the goods are loaded on board at the port of shipment. The Act provides a mechanism to transfer the contractual rights and liabilities with the transfer of the sea transport document. However section 2(2) restricts the application of the relevant provisions to documents that are ‘transferable or negotiable’. By custom of merchants bills of lading made out ‘to order’, and bearer bills of lading, are transferable and negotiable. However, straight bills of lading and sea waybills are made out to a named consignee only. These modern forms of sea transport document are increasingly popular and offer many advantages to traders and ocean carriers. Yet they are both regarded as non-negotiable. The dissertation examines the interpretation of the terms ‘transferable’ and ‘negotiable’ as they came to be applied to both negotiable instruments and bills of lading, and considers current academic and judicial opinion on the meaning of these terms. The provisions of the Sea Transport Documents Act are analysed, and compared to the remedies provided in the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1992 (United Kingdom), similar legislation in other commonwealth countries and the law in the United States and Europe. Finally alternative means of establishing title to sue, including the stipulatio alteri, are considered. / Theses (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

South African ports are regulated by a compulsory pilotage system. This means that when a vessel enters or leaves any of the South African Ports regulated by Transnet National Ports Authority, this vessel is obliged by law to utilize a pilot to navigate the vessel safely into and out of the port. The reason for doing so is to reduce the risk of incidents that occur within the ports due to the fact that the pilots have specialized knowledge of the port’s specific conditions. However, collisions may still occur in these ports. One such incident is the collision of the MV Stella Tingas. The case of the MV Stella Tingas brought to light the unacceptable situation created by the lacunae in the Legal Succession To The South African Transport Act of 1989, where the innocent vessel that was involved in a collision with a vessel under compulsory pilotage could not get satisfaction for damages from either the ship-owner of the guilty vessel or from the Port Authority. In order to resolve this position, the Legislature enacted the National Ports Act 12 of 2005, specifically section 76, to resolve this problem. Section 76(2) states that the ship-owners of vessels under compulsory pilotage will be liable for all actions of a pilot, whilst section 76(1) provide that the Port Authority will not be liable for actions of the pilot done in good faith. The National Ports Act has however not defined good faith and the courts have not interpreted this concept since the commencement of the Act. This dissertation will investigate what good faith is, by examining exclusionary clauses and by exploring the concepts of gross negligence and intention in order to ascertain whether good faith excludes these concepts. Thereafter the dissertation will seek to discover a test that can be used in order to assess whether the actions of the pilot were done in good faith or not. The dissertation will trace the history of compulsory pilotage from its origins in English Law to South African law. It will also examine the relationship between the master and the pilot as well as the circumstances where the master can intervene in the affairs of the pilot, by ascertaining what an emergency is, as contemplated by the National Ports Act. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This dissertation addresses the question of liability for oil spills emanating from offshore installations, beginning with an analysis of international law, specifically international customary law, global conventions and regional agreements. Following the analysis of the present international law, a number of proposals are considered in motivation of a global convention specifically addressing offshore platforms. Key areas addressed are the scope of the proposed convention, the standard of liability imposed, the quantum of liability suggested, financial security measures, dispute resolution proceedings and alternatives to a global convention. Legal instruments discussed in this portion include the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution and a number of global and regional legal instruments. This discussion will also draw analogies with the nuclear compensation regime in motivation for strict liability between States. The domestic legal framework of the United States of America and South Africa are discussed and contrasted. The primary federal marine pollution legislation of the USA, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, is compared to South Africa’s Marine Pollution (Control and Civil Liability) Act 6 of 1981 in order to determine which provisions are successful and which ought to be amended or supplemented. Other sources of South Africa law considered include the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, the Maritime Zones Act 15 of 1994, the Admiralty Jurisdiction and Regulation Act 105 of 1983 as well principles of South African common law. The objectives of this research are to identify all the international and domestic legal instruments that are applicable to offshore platforms, critically evaluate their provisions and propose realistic amendments and instruments that resolve any lacunae or weaknesses that are identified. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

International trade in large amounts of commodities resulted in the recent growth of the shipping industry. With larger ships being constructed to meet land based demands for various types of commodities combined with the unpredictable and often perilous conditions at sea, the risk of a shipwreck arising becomes more likely. Not only do these wrecks pose a danger to the environment and to navigation but also, in the event of the shipowner escaping liability by abandoning the wreck for instance, the state affected by the wreck finds itself financially burdened by the costs involved in having the wreck removed. Moreover, an affected state cannot intervene and impose conditions to the shipowner to have a wreck removed if it occurred in its exclusive economic zone because the state’s jurisdiction is limited to preserving natural resources. Thus, despite drifting cargo and the ship itself posing a hazard to coastal states, they had no authority to intervene and issue a wreck removal notice. Recognising these safety concerns and lacunae in international law, the International Maritime Organisation formulated the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, (“Nairobi Convention”) which was aimed at governing the regulation of removing wrecks whilst imposing strict liability on the shipowner, subject to the other liability Conventions and limitation of liability. However, after a survey was conducted by the Comitè Maritime International it was also established that national laws of many states such as the United Kingdom (“UK”) and South Africa were inadequate to enforce liability claims for costs incurred in removing a wreck. As a result, the Convention allows contracting states to apply the provisions of the Convention to their territorial sea. This dissertation will discuss relevant provisions of the Nairobi Convention and illustrate how it has been implemented and consequently reformed the law of the United Kingdom. The dissertation will then analyse the implementation strategy which enforces the Convention in the UK, with the aim of providing a suggestion of how South Africa should enforce the Convention into its national laws. This will lead to an assessment of the current legislative framework governing wreck removal in South Africa with the aim of establishing whether the law is need of reform and how this should be facilitated. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Sub-Saharan African nations are highly dependent on the agricultural sector for livelihoods. South Africa and Nigeria depend on agriculture due to the availability of abundant land, labour and natural resources. According to the theory of comparative advantage a state exports the products that it has a comparative advantage in and imports those where it does not have a comparative advantage. This is facilitated by international trade. International trade is defined as trade among nations that enables a nation to buy certain products that it cannot produce from other nations at a cheaper rate. Furthermore, it is expected that every sovereign state would be able to provide not only food and water but also good access to sufficient food and water to its people. Section 27.1b of Chapter 2 of the South African Constitution of 1996 and Article 16 of Nigeria’s Constitution of 1999 enshrine this provision. A number of factors impact food security. The first is international trade. This is spelt out in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). The agreement establishing the WTO is commonly known as the “Marrakesh Agreement.” It was signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 15th of April, 1994, at the end of the Uruguay Round of Multiple Trade Negotiations. The AoA consists of three pillars: market access, export subsidies and domestic support .Market access requires all parties to the AoA to remove non-tariff barriers which comprise of import quotas and restrictions and convert them to tariffs; a process known as ‘tariffication’. States are also obliged to reduce export subsidies at the same time as increasing their imports. Domestic support, states are to remove subsidy it gives to its people a process that increases the price of goods. Another factor is trade liberalization. This study examines the effects of WTO agricultural trade liberalization on food security and the mechanisms available to address this issue. It focuses on the food security implications of the WTO AoA and asserts that the AoA favours agricultural producers in developed countries. The study seeks to ascertain the extent to which the realization of the objectives of the agreement will promote food security by looking into the abovementioned three pillars and their relationship with food security. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.