Maritime law consultant and legal practitioner, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah, has predicted a steady two-percent growth for global maritime trade by year-end 2024.
In the medium term, however, a 4pct increase is expected to be seen by the end of 2028.
Backing projections from UNCTAD, Drewry, Clarksons, Clyde and Co, the maritime trade lawyer, pinned his hopes on an expected growth largely to demand and supply dynamics around the world favouring increased trade, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
World maritime trade saw its biggest year in 2022, so far as productivity is concerned, as a remarkable 11.2 billion metric tons of cargo were traded across the globe.
This shoot, according to the astute maritime lawyer, was a clear indicator of a rise in demand following the disruptive pandemic, whose impact on the supply chain was felt most between 2020 and 2021.
Barring any such events, and the hopeful de-escalation of geopolitical tensions, the veteran maritime expert, expects shipping to grow steadily in the next few years.
However, like the aforementioned research institutions, Dr. Mbiah is cautiously optimistic, as he advises that an open eye be kept on the ever-dynamic global maritime industry.
Dr. Mbiah, a former chairman of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) between 2011 to 2016 was speaking to Kennedy Mornah on award-winning Eye on Port program on Accra-Based Metro TV during Ghana Month.
He intimated that beyond events of its own making, the far-reaching maritime industry remains vulnerable to external factors.
One practical example is the ongoing geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, whose resolution still hangs in the air.