Parliament on Wednesday adopted the report on the Ghana Maritime Authority Bill, paving the way for it to mature for the consideration stage. It seeks to establish a Ghana Maritime Authority that would among other things, regulate, monitor and co-ordinate activities in the maritime industry.

Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport, said an effective regulatory body in the country would guarantee the implementation of several international maritime conventions of which Ghana was a signatory.

Mr S. F. Sarfo, Chairman, Committee on Roads and Transport, who read the report, said there were a number of disjointed and un-co-ordinated maritime related laws and regulations in the country.

"These laws and regulations have been fashioned out to address separate concerns of operators in the maritime industry such as the Volta Lake Transport Company, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the Ghana Shippers Council, all of which have separate laws governing them." He said that led to functional overlaps resulting in conflicts that impacted negatively on the rational allocation and optimum use of resources in the Maritime Industry.

Mr Sarfo said the Shipping and Navigation Division (SND) of the Ministry of Roads and Transport, which supervises the maritime industry, lacked the necessary resources within the civil service system to effectively perform as a national maritime administration. "Privatisation of shipping and port service for instance, could be handled more effectively if a well-established regulatory body were put in place to manage the maritime industry."

He said the bill was Ghana's response to the call by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by its Assembly Resolution of 1997 to its member states to strengthen their maritime institutional capabilities through the creation of such authorities.