APPRAISAL OF NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON REMOVAL OF WRECKS 2007 AND RELEVANCE TO NIGERIA

Abstract

The Article explored the Nairobi international Convention on the removal of wrecks, 2007. The objectives of the article is to decipher the relevance of the Nairobi international Convention to the Nigerian maritime domain. The methodology adopted was the doctrinal legal research methodology. The Research findings revealed that the Nairobi international Convention dealt mainly with wrecks in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria whereas most wrecks are the inshore waters and the territorial seas of Nigeria. The article therefore, recommended inter alia, the urgent need for legislative intervention by domesticating the Nairobi Convention so as to be able to enforce its provisions on the registered ship owners in Nigeria, since it is not yet a law by virtue of section 12 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Nigeria should also review, amend and strengthen our domestic wreck removal laws by narrowing the gap between the Nairobi international Convention and Nigeria’s wreck removal laws.