The word “cabotage”
is supposed to be evolved from the French word “ Caboter” meaning ‘sail along a coast’. As per records the word cabotage has been in
use related to coastal trade from mid-19th
century onwards. In a coastal transport system, the travel of a passenger or
cargo begins and ends in the same country.
Few popular definitions
of cabotage are as under:
-
the English language
dictionary defines cabotage as ‘transport of passengers and goods within the
same national territory’.
- Another definition is
that ‘ the right to operate sea, air, or other transport services within a
particular territory.
-
Or, ‘restrictions of the operation of sea air or other transport
services within or into a particular country to that country’s own transport
services .
In simple words, “Cabotage” is a principle regulating shipping activities,
which takes place within a country's waters, and recognises that a country is
entitled to restrict the activities of foreign vessels operating within its
waters. This principle has an important bearing on a country’s coastal shipping
trade and is expected to protect and promote the domestic shipping sector of
the country.
Most of the maritime nations placed restrictions on
movement of cargo or passengers along coastal ports of their country by their
own flag vessels. Countries like USA practices an absolute cabotage (Jones Act)
, which requires all goods shipped among US sea ports be
carried by US built, flagged, operated and crewed vessels. Where as many other
nations, including India, relaxed the
cabotage principle to promote the EXIM trade.
In India the Cabotage, which is provisioned in section
406 & 407 part XIV of Merchant Shipping Act,1958, is not absolute .
According to this law, only Indian flag vessels can carry cargo from one Indian
port to another Indian port . However , permission can be granted to foreign
flag vessels to carry cargo between Indian ports , in case Indian flag ships
are not available. The notification of Govt of India with regard to cabotage
relaxation for transhipment port is attached here under:
