THE Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) has suggested the establishment of an international arbitration centre to settle commercial disputes emanating from increasing sea-borne trade litigations in the country.
It said the absence of such an arbitration centre in the country often led disputants to resort to the commercial courts or seek arbitration outside the country, with its attendant delays, frustration and high cost.
Speaking during the launch of the GSA’s seventh maritime law seminar for judges of Superior courts in Accra, its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kofi Mbiah, observed that players in international business transactions “have a preference for resolving their cases through arbitration”.
“With the increases in international commercial activity, including the emergence of the oil and gas industry, Ghana would need to put in place appropriate structures, as well as the necessary framework, and build capacity to establish Accra as an important centre for arbitration,” he said.
He said total volume of goods shipped through the country’s seaports had been increasing, rising from 12 million tonnes in 2009 to 13.9 million tonnes last year.
As of September this year, “total throughput — the amount of goods shipped — has again increased to 11.5 million tonnes, compared with 9.3 million tonnes as oft September 2010”.
He was confident that a projected 14 per cent end-year Gross Domestic Product (GDP), coming at the back of commenced drilling of oil and increased cocoa yields, would help increase the volume to the 15-million tonne mark by the end of 2011.
The Transport Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, who graced the occasion, called on the Judiciary to repose confidence in its systems.
He asked judges to constantly update their knowledge “in this dynamic and specialised area of law as it evolves”.
He said his ministry had taken the requisite steps towards equipping the Ghana Maritime Authority and other relevant institutions to enable them to deal with issues of piracy, as the incident was currently gaining ground in neighbouring Togo.
According to Alhaji Dauda, the government’s take-over of the Tema Shipyard and Drydock was aimed at giving it the opportunity to reap fully from the increased vessel repair activity brought about by the increase in trade and the exploitation of Ghana’s oil and gas resources.
The maritime law seminar is an annual initiative of the GSA aimed at updating superior court judges on developments in the maritime sector and has since been addressed by resource persons from around the world.
This year’s event was a two-day seminar that took participants through laws relating to the sale and purchase of ships, the legal and upstream regime in the oil and gas industry using Ghana’s Jubilee fields as a case study, among others.
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