UK P&I Club highlights consequences of flouting maritime cabotage rules


UK P&I Club has published a legal briefing on the main global cabotage regimes, highlighting the restrictions, exceptions and penalties for shipowners who violate these regulations. Maritime cabotage is the sea transport of passengers and goods between two sea ports located in the same country. Coastal trade, particularly in archipelagic countries and countries with long coastlines are an important and lucrative trade. It is therefore unsurprising that countries try to restrict the commercial transportation of goods and services between their ports and islands to nationally owned vessels.