Proposal of a Conceptual Framework for a New Maritime Administration in the Republic of Haiti

The report opens with Haitian history and maritime affairs, the 1972 and 1977 Duvalier decrees defining the territorial sea and maritime zones, and the maritime boundary agreements with Cuba (1977) and Colombia (1978). It reviews what IMO instruments require of coastal, flag and port States and the organizational models proposed in the literature, then describes the three institutions that carry out maritime administration in Haiti: the Autorité Portuaire Nationale (APN), the Service Maritime et de Navigation d'Haïti (SEMANAH) and the Haitian coast guard, a division of the national police.

Chapter 4 lists the gaps: claimed baselines not based on hydrographic surveys, a territorial sea that exceeds 12 nautical miles in places, no boundary agreement with Jamaica, no vessel traffic system, weak search and rescue, no maritime law, no systematic accident investigation or record keeping, no recognized organizations, no participation in the voluntary IMO audit scheme and no membership of the Caribbean MoU on port State control. Chapter 5 proposes an autonomous coast guard under the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Communication, SEMANAH as the flag and port State administration with a dual national and international ship registry, public-private partnership for seafarer training, a corps of trained surveyors, accession to MARPOL and other conventions, and a Haitian hydrographic office.