Somalia's maritime development boosted with completion of shipping code‏

Maritime development in Somalia has moved a significant step forward with the completion of the Somali Shipping Code.

The Code is the culmination of some six years of work, supported by IMO and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), to build Somalia's capacity to grow and sustain a burgeoning blue economy and to ensure the necessary legal and administrative processes are in place.

The text of the Shipping Code will now undergo the necessary parliamentary processes for enactment into Somali national law.

The Shipping Code is the blueprint for the country  to adop relevant international maritime conventions, to enable it to discharge its responsibilities as a flag, port and coastal State .

At more than 3,300 km, Somalia's coastline is the longest and perhaps the most geographically significant in the Horn of Africa. It has four main commercial seaports and several minor ports.