Lawmaker completes development of Armenia’s maritime legislation

YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Armen Pambukhchyan from the ruling My Step faction, deputy chair of the parliamentary standing committee on regional and Eurasian integration affairs, has developed a maritime legislation for Armenia. The legislation will enable landlocked Armenia to have ships under its own flag and carry out cargo transportation.

“I have completed the work and now it undergoes a legal formulation by the experts in the Parliament. I have written the legislation considering the experience of other countries. This will be beneficial for Armenia from economic perspective and also will create an opportunity of alternative route for cargo transportation. 44 landlocked countries of the world have been enabled under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to have their own legislation and become “non-landlocked”, carrying out sea shipments through the closest nearby country, having ships under their own flags. The developed legislation gives the regulations, but the final right of the country is envisaged by the UN Convention”, the lawmaker told ARMENPRESS.

He said Armenia has joined this Convention, but didn’t have a maritime legislation, therefore could not use its opportunity. But now a regulating document is already developed, its adoption should be followed by a stage of receiving permission by the respective body in England. After that Armenia will already become a “non-landlocked country”. It will enable Armenia to acquire ships under its own flag in the closest nearby country, carry out cargo transportation. According to the MP, this will bring additional entries to the Armenian budget.

He stated that there are already people from different countries who wish to use ships under the Armenian flag because Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and by using the ships with an Armenian flag, they want to use a customs privilege in these countries. The MP said the land route for Armenia is the Lars checkpoint which is often blocked due to traffic, but in case of becoming a “non-landlocked country”, there will be an alternative, sea route for cargo transportation.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan