African ministers endorse establishment of regional shipping line framework and cabotage protocol

Containers offloaded from a Korea Marine Transport Container Shipping Lines vessel at the Mombasa port. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Ministers, senior officials and key maritime stakeholders from Kenya and other member states of the Maritime Organisation for Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa (MOESNA) have endorsed the proposed regional shipping lines and maritime cabotage protocol to reduce trade costs and build indigenous shipping capacity.

The decision, taken last week at the 10th Assembly of Ministers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, would address high freight costs, reliance on foreign ships, and fragmented regulations. Currently, ships transport cargo from one African state to another, travelling through another continent before reaching its destination.

Maritime experts say the regional shipping lines would increase intra-Africa trade, currently below 20 per cent compared to Europe’s 60 per cent, Asia’s 58 per cent and North America’s 40 per cent. Currently, Africa's indigenous ship ownership remains at less than 2 per cent of global ownership.

This situation restricts job opportunities for thousands of seafarers, marine engineers, ship managers, and other maritime professionals, as a significant portion of the maritime value chain remains outside African ownership.

A regional shipping lines network is also expected to stimulate indigenous investment in vessel ownership, ship repair and maintenance, marine insurance, maritime finance, bunkering, port services, logistics, and other maritime support industries, thereby strengthening the blue economy.

Tanzanian Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, who was the chief guest, said regional transport coordination would reduce logistics costs, speed up the movement of goods, and expand market access. He emphasised regional cooperation, infrastructure alignment, and maritime development.

“At independence, our forefather also emphasised the need for integrating maritime, road, and railway networks across Africa to cut the time and expense of cross-border trade,” said Dr Nchemba, and said that a dedicated Regional Shipping Line would lower transportation costs and boost intra-African trade.

He called for the adoption of a maritime protocol by member states to align with regional regulations to enhance shipping and trade efficiency. The 10th MOESNA Assembly of Ministers was convened under the theme “Strengthening Regional Maritime Cooperation for an Integrated, Competitive and Sustainable African Maritime Economy.”

The assembly reaffirmed the importance of collective action in promoting maritime connectivity, trade, safety, capacity development and sustainable growth across the region. Kenya's delegation at the summit was led by Principal Secretary for the State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs, Mr Aden Abdi.

The Mombasa meeting, hosted by the Maritime Organisation for Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa (MOESNA), was tasked with coordinating the implementation roadmap and establishing a cabotage committee and project implementation unit, while member states undertake necessary legislative reforms.

Proposal presented at the 10th Assembly of Ministers in Dar es Salaam on Oct 15, 2026, following the 9th Assembly directive in Nairobi in June 2024. MOESNA Secretary General Mr Kassim Mpaata said the decision was a major step towards strengthening maritime connectivity and expanding intra-African trade.

It will also address challenges that have limited the development of regional shipping services and the region's maritime trade, currently dependent on foreign-owned and operated shipping lines, said Mpaata.

Mpaata emphasised the urgent need to expand passenger and cargo shipping between African ports, reduce trade barriers, and cut down heavy reliance on foreign shipping lines.

“MOESNA is committed to supporting the Federation of Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa Shippers' Councils (FESNASCo) to protect African shippers in global trade policy. The ongoing cooperation with bodies like the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will push forward the Regional Maritime Transport Policy and cabotage protocols,” he said.

The Assembly endorsed the findings and recommendations of validated studies on the two initiatives, recognising their potential to improve regional transport links, attract investment in indigenous shipping capacity and enable countries to capture greater economic benefits from their maritime resources.

Despite its strategic location, extensive coastline, major seaports and significant trade potential, the Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa (ESNA) region continues to face limited direct shipping connections between member states.

The challenges include high freight and logistics costs, reliance on transshipment outside the region, fragmented maritime regulations and inadequate indigenous fleet capacity.

These constraints increase the cost of moving goods, weaken supply-chain efficiency and contribute to the outflow of freight earnings to shipping operators based outside the region.

The assembly said the proposed Regional Shipping Lines Network would provide a coordinated framework for developing shipping services that respond to the cargo volumes, trade patterns and connectivity needs of Member States.

By improving links between regional ports and trade corridors, the initiative is intended to facilitate the movement of goods, support regional value chains and strengthen the competitiveness of African businesses in international markets. The network could also create opportunities for investment and economic growth in industrialisation, tourism, fisheries, offshore energy and other sectors of the Blue Economy.

The Assembly recognised that establishing a sustainable regional shipping network would require an appropriate public-private partnership model, supported by sound institutional arrangements, enabling legal frameworks and investment mobilisation.

The proposed services will need to be commercially viable and aligned with existing transport corridors and multimodal logistics systems, ensuring that shipping operations complement road, rail and inland-waterway transport.

MOESNA is expected to work with member states, regional economic communities, development partners, financial institutions and private-sector stakeholders to mobilise the resources and expertise required to advance the initiative.

Alongside the shipping network, the assembly approved the draft Regional Maritime Cabotage Protocol as a proposed framework for harmonising relevant maritime transport arrangements across member states.

Cabotage generally refers to the movement of passengers or cargo between ports within the same country or, in a regional framework, between ports in participating countries under agreed rules governing coastal and regional shipping.

Currently, differences in national maritime laws, vessel registration systems, licensing procedures and market-access requirements create barriers for shipping operators seeking to provide services across national borders.

The absence of a harmonised framework has limited the movement of vessels, increased operational complexity and made it more difficult to establish integrated regional shipping services.

The proposed Protocol seeks to address these challenges by providing a basis for progressively aligning legal, regulatory and institutional arrangements, facilitating market access for eligible regional shipping operators and creating a more predictable operating environment.

Once the required technical and legal processes have been completed and the Protocol has gone through the applicable adoption and national procedures, it is expected to support investment in indigenous shipping capacity and improve the competitiveness of regional maritime transport.

The Assembly emphasised that the shipping network and the Cabotage Protocol should be implemented together because the success of one will depend partly on the effectiveness of the other.

While the network would provide the framework for developing coordinated shipping services, the protocol would help establish the regulatory conditions needed to facilitate their operations across participating countries.

To move the initiatives from approval to implementation, the Assembly directed the MOESNA Secretary-General to coordinate the development of the necessary implementation instruments and roadmap.

The proposed measures include internationalising a Regional Cabotage Committee and establishing a Regional Shipping and Cabotage Project Implementation Unit within the Secretariat, subject to the applicable institutional and financial approvals.

Member States were also called upon to progressively undertake the legal, regulatory, financial and institutional reforms required to implement the network and Protocol in accordance with their respective national procedures and obligations.

The Assembly requested the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to continue providing institutional, technical and financial support to MOESNA in advancing the recommendations of the validated studies.

The Secretariat was further encouraged to strengthen collaboration with regional economic communities, development partners, financial institutions and private-sector stakeholders to mobilise resources and promote public-private partnerships.

MOESNA will monitor progress and report to its relevant policy organs on implementation, challenges and any additional measures required to advance the two initiatives.

In considering the evaluation, the Assembly recognised the contributions and potential of the interested Member States, particularly in inland-waterway training, multimodal transport and regional connectivity.

Meanwhile, Member States were called upon to progressively undertake the necessary legal, regulatory, financial and institutional reforms to facilitate the implementation of the Regional Shipping Lines Network and the Protocol, in accordance with their respective national procedures and obligations.

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