Navigating Domestic Waters: A Critical Examination of Tanzania’s Legal Framework Governing the Carriage of Goods by Sea

Joyce Kamala; Hiacinter Rwechungura

doi:10.18535/sshj.v9i10.1964

Abstract

Tanzania’s strategic Indian-Ocean coastline ought to make the country a natural logistics hub for East Africa, yet its carriage of goods legislation remains tied to the 1924 Hague template. This study utilizes combined a doctrinal and comparative reading of the Merchant Shipping Act 2003 and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (Cap 164) alongside The Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules, and benchmarks the findings against recent Kenyan and South-African reforms. The analysis exposes an enabling-order vacuum that leaves the ratified Hamburg Rules inoperative; a one-off seaworthiness duty and brief “tackle-to-tackle” liability window misaligned with multimodal reality; statutory silence on electronic bills of lading; and overlapping manifest-vetting mandates between the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation and the Tanzania Ports Authority that prolong vessel clearance. These doctrinal and institutional gaps inflate insurance premiums, encourage forum shopping and blunt Dar es Salaam’s competitive edge. The paper urges timely incorporation of modern liability conventions, legal recognition of electronic documentation and consolidation of clearance functions within a single-window regulator to restore legal certainty and administrative efficiency.

Keywords

Community ParticipationMilenge DistrictRoad InfrastructureRural DevelopmentSustainable

References

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[refR-2] Bixby, J. (2019). International Maritime Law and Modern Liability Regimes. Routledge.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Charles Bendera, Law of Carriage: Maritime, Air and Land Transport in Tanzania (Open University of Tanzania, 2019) 152–158.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] James Kiraga and Emmanuel Mapunda, ‘Modernising Maritime Trade Law in East Africa: The Impact of Kenya’s Merchant Shipping Act 2009’ (2021) 12 African Journal of Maritime Law 57–63.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] John F Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea (7th ed, Pearson, 2010) 142–145.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Kebaya, J., & Wambugu, S. (2020). Maritime infrastructural bottlenecks and trade facilitation in East Africa. African Journal of Transport, 7(1), 33-50.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-7] Kiraga, R., & Mapunda, G. (2021). Aligning Kenya’s Merchant Shipping Act with international carriage conventions. East African Law Review, 38(1), 1-22.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Malcolm N Shaw, International Law (8th ed, Cambridge University Press, 2017) 131–135.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Mombo, E., & Chijumulo, M. (2022). Enforcement challenges in Tanzania’s port sector. Journal of Maritime Affairs, 14(2), 205-224.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Mukherjee, P. (2002). The Hamburg Rules: A developing-country perspective. International Transport Law Quarterly, 48(3), 327-356.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-11] Shaw, M. N. (2017). International Law (8th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-12] Stephen Girvin, Carriage of Goods by Sea (3rd ed, Oxford University Press, 2021) 198–203.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Spooner, ‘South Africa’s E-Manifest Hub: Early Results and Efficiency Gains’ (2023) Maritime Technology Journal 38.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-14] UNCITRAL. (2024). Status of the Rotterdam Rules. United Nations.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-15] UNCTAD. (2020). Trade and Development Report: Facilitating Maritime Commerce in Developing Countries. United Nations.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-16] UNCTAD. (2024). Review of Maritime Transport. United Nations.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-17] United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Economic Development in Africa Report 2020: Tackling Illicit Financial Flows for Sustainable Development in Africa (2020) 74–76.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-18] Wilson, J. (2010). Carriage of Goods by Sea (7th ed.). Pearson Education.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-19] World Trade Organization. (2023). Legal Aspects of Trade and Transport Facilitation. WTO Publishing.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-20] Zacharias, G. K. (2021). Dualism and maritime treaty implementation in West Africa. Law of the Sea Review, 12(4), 455-480.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] Zacharias Nnamdi, ‘The Orphaned Status of the Hamburg Rules in Dualist Legal Systems: A Nigerian and Commonwealth Perspective’ (2021) 9(2) Journal of Maritime and Commercial Law 87.Google Scholar ↗