About

Formal collaboration in the Shipping and Maritime sector among the States in Eastern and Southern Africa was initiated by the founding fathers of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in 1967 on an ad hoc basis, and later formalized with the establishment of a Secretariat in 1974 and a Treaty in 1987. This came after regional economies faced adverse conditions in shipping and international trade that were beyond their individual control. The complexities and international nature of these issues necessitated collective action.

The primary mandate of the organization was to advise governments on addressing soaring freight rates and other adverse conditions in international trade that negatively impacted shipping and maritime trade, while also undertaking several functions on their behalf.

The Organization operated primarily as a government-to-government body until 2006 when it transformed to accommodate the changing dynamics in shipping and international trade. This evolution recognized the increasing role of the private sector in shipping and freight logistics, as well as the need to promote trade across inland water bodies.

The founding members of the Organization who for a long time operated as a four-member organization but are currently six, have taken note of the increasing universality of shipping and maritime challenges affecting regional states. They acknowledge that it is neither in their own interests nor the interests of the region and Africa at large for the organization to continue being restricted in terms of membership and operations, especially given that the reasons for its formation are the very challenges faced by and aspirations pursued by the rest of the regional states.

Ministers responsible for shipping and maritime affairs of the states using the Indian Ocean and its adjoining bodies as their maritime passage for international trade met in March 2022 in Entebbe, Uganda, and in March 2023 in Livingstone, Zambia, to reiterate the importance of collaboration in the shipping and maritime sector and to commit to working together to address their shipping and maritime agenda as a region.

Concurring with the Organization’s founding members and united by their shared interests, challenges, and aspirations but decried the lack of sufficient collaboration and unity of purpose in this area, expressing concern over the negative effects of unilateral and disjointed efforts in this complex, capital-intensive, high-expenditure, and highly specialized industry. The regional Ministers acknowledged the need to have a unified regional Maritime body that can address these common issues. Recognizing the Intergovernmental Standing Committee on Shipping (ISCOS) as the pioneering regional maritime organization, though with a limited mandate, the regional ministers agreed to rebrand ISCOS, to expand its geographical scope and mandate, resulting in the creation of the Maritime Organization for Eastern, Southern, and Northern Africa (MOESNA).

MOESNA, with its expanded mandates, is poised to promote regional collaboration by facilitating cooperation among regional states to address technical and complex maritime issues. Leveraging international partnerships to enhance maritime safety, security, and environmental protection. As well as developing mechanisms for regular dialogue and information exchange with global maritime organizations. It aims to effectively protect regional interests against adverse policies and practices of multinational service providers. Furthermore, MOESNA will strive to harmonize maritime policies across the region to ensure seamless connectivity and integration, by developing a structured mechanism for collaboration in the safe, optimal, and economical use of shared maritime bodies and facilities.

As the region is faced with unfair policies and practices, MOESNA intends to Utilize collective interventions as highlighted in the African Maritime Transport Charter (AMTC) that encourages regional groupings in pursuit of common goals to counter the adverse policies by multinational service providers by representing regional concerns at international maritime forums.