Maritime law and security expert, Dr.Kamal Deen Ali is calling for a review of Ghana’s maritime law to deal with the complexities associated with piracy and other related crimes.
This he said is because Ghana’s laws on piracy is outdated, saying, “It hasn’t kept out with the pace of the modern definition of piracy.”
“Generally in the sub region a number of countries do have very outdated legislation so we should be working to update our legislation so that we can deal with the complex issues of piracy and other piratical related violence,” he stated on Eyewitness News.
Dr Deen made the suggestion when commenting on the arrest of of about eight-suspected Nigerian pirates alleged to have hijacked an oil vessel in Nigeria.
He observed that there is a high possibility that the eight-suspected pirates could be extradited to Nigeria for trial.
Dr.Kamal Deen Ali who is also the Director of Research at the Ghana Armed Forces, explained that “It is just not Ghana that has the absolute interest and rights to trial, Nigeria also has that interest and rights so it may well be that some process can be put in place that the culprits may be extradited to Nigeria,” he added.
The alleged hijacked vessel, MV Mariam, was said to be carrying about 1,500 tonnes of crude oil when the pirates seized it. The pirates are reported to have turned the vessel around and entered the territorial waters of Ghana but a tracking device on the vessel, enabled the owner to trace and report it to Ghana’s Navy for the arrest to be made.
In a related development, Ghana’s Navy is leading an international force to search for the cargo on board the hijacked vessel. Ghanaian Security Services believe that the pirates managed to transfer the ship’s cargo into another vessel prior to their arrest.
Via: http://www.citifmonline.com
