The flexible maritime cabotage approach

The general understanding is that for a sovereign state the choice of maritime cabotage approach is limited to either a protectionist or a liberal approach. However, there is a third approach, which we will refer to as the ‘flexible maritime cabotage approach’. With this approach a sovereign state can alternate between the protectionist and liberal maritime cabotage approaches as circumstances demand. The countries that adopt a flexible approach are normally those that traditionally have had a protectionist maritime cabotage regime. However, the distinct feature with this approach is the built-in legal mechanism that allows the sovereign state to alternate to a liberal policy when required without the need to go through the typically slow parliamentary process. We will now consider the legal frameworks of maritime cabotage law in some of these countries.