ABSTRACT
Maritime cabotage has various identities in different jurisdictions, which include: coasting trade, coastwise trade, colonial trade, and short sea shipping. All of them signify the freedom, or lack thereof, to perform maritime activities within the maritime territory of a country or group of countries. The operative maritime cabotage law of a sovereign state can be found in legislations such as acts of parliaments, customs law, national constitutions, immigration acts, shipping laws and company law. However, globalization and the emergence of robust regional blocs mean that maritime cabotage law has taken on a broader character. The regional agenda of maritime cabotage is developing fast, with the association of southeast asian nations region, African Union, north american free trade area region and european union setting up regional maritime cabotage frameworks. Despite the absence of a universally accepted legal framework, the concept of maritime cabotage has been used for many centuries.
