A maritime lawyer, Mr. Chidi Ilogu, has called on the federal government to put in place efficient judicial system to address issues arising from cargo claims.

Ilogu, who made the call at a three-day maritime seminar for judges in Abuja, said that cargo claims often arose due to inefficient port systems.

The maritime lawyer spoke on “Fundamental Issues in Marine Cargo Claims”.

According to him, it is desirable that legitimate cargo claims in Nigeria are expeditiously addressed and disposed off through the judicial system and marine insurance market.

The lawyer said that an efficient judicial system would aid international trade and the nations economy.

“Needless to say that justice delayed is justice denied with increased cost implication for the cargo claimant”, our correspondent quotes Ilogu as saying.

He said that several conventions and carriage regimes governed cargo claims in different jurisdictions.

Ilogu, who is also a Principal Partner in Foundation Chambers, said that the extent of liability of the carrier was dependent on the applicable carriage regime.

He said that nations had not enjoyed much practical application of the Hamburg Rules, which only came into force in the last decade, given the opposition by major maritime nations.

“As such, it has not really been tested, even in Nigeria, where it is now applicable since 2005,” Ilogu said.

Our correspondent reports that the Hamburg Rules are a set of rules governing the international shipment of goods.

It was fallout of the UN International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea adopted in Hamburg on March 31, 1978.

The Convention was an attempt to form a uniform legal base for the transportation of goods on oceangoing ships.