Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Kenya: Weak Laws Blamed for Low Sea Pollution Fines

The Nation (Nairobi)

Nairobi

Current laws on marine pollution cannot adequately address the problem, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

The laws impose very low fines because Kenya has not domesticated the Compensation Act," said Mr Chirau Ali Mwakwere of Transport.

"A Marine Pollution Bill has been incorporated in the Merchant Shipping Bill to facilitate the development of regulations for marine pollution control," he said.

Mr Mwakwere was speaking at the Mombasa Serena Beach Hotel when he opened a workshop to discuss the Merchant Shipping Bill.

The Bill is among the 11 that were prepared by a task force established by the attorney-general in April 2002 to review and harmonise all maritime laws.

The minister said the Bill that was developed from old Merchant Shipping Act, which was enacted in 1894 by the British Government, needed to be re-enacted "so that Kenya can domesticate international maritime conventions, to which it is a signatory".

"The current Merchant Shipping Act refers to provision of Safety of Life at Sea (Solas), while the Solas Convention was adopted in 1974 and amended by a Protocol in 1978. There are therefore numerous amendments, which cannot be implemented from the current Merchant Shipping Act," said Mr Mwakwere.

He gave an example of an oil spill incident of April 2004 involving MT Ratna Shahili at the Kipevu oil terminal in Mombasa, where the ship owner paid only US$1 million (about Sh70 million).

The vessel punctured her hull at the terminal, spilling about 200 tons of murban light crude oil, which affected about 230 hectares of the mangrove habitat at the Port Reitz Creek.

The compensation was minimal because currently, compensation on any oil spill can only be launched under Civil Liability Convention of 1996.

The Merchant Shipping Bill is being discussed by among others, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy, Communications and Public Works, Kenya Maritime Authority officials and representatives from the Kenya Ports Authority.

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