Maritime and Environmental Law Practice

PUC and one of its foreign maritime correspondent law-firms were engaged as Consultants to Bureau of Public Enterprise BPE on the reform of Nigerian Ports.

We submitted the final drafts of National Transport Commission Bill, 2006 establishing an independent regulatory body for the transport sector and the Ports and Harbour Bill, 2006 which provides the regulatory framework for a landlord port system in the Nigeria and sets up two companies out of the existing Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA.

PUC drafted on behalf of the National Assembly, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Bill 2006 which establishes NIMASA. The Bill was passed by the National Assembly in March 2007. PUC also drafted the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 which reserves the bulk of the country's coastal trading to indigenous ship-owners and crew. PUC was responsible on behalf of the National Assembly for all the legislative advocacy work connected with the law.

PUC on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport drafted the Coastal and Inland Shipping Cabotage (Bareboat Registration) Regulations 2004.

As members of the Presidential Committee on Modalities for the Implementation of Cabotage in Nigeria, we chaired the drafting sub-committee which produced the Guidelines on the implementation of Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act.

PUC worked with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the National Assembly to draft and pass the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria Bill 2006.

PUC drafted the Framework for the Sub-regional Cabotage Policy and the Memorandum of Understanding on Sub-regional Cabotage adopted by the Meeting of Experts and the Bureau of Ministers of the Maritime Organization for the West and Central Africa Region, MOWCA, in Abidjan 2002.

As a founding project team member of Ecomarine International (a West/Central African regional shipping company) with its head off ices in Lóme, Republic of Togo, our Firm has been involved in every aspect of the Company's activities and continues to provide secretarial and legal advisory services to the company.

PUC has been involved on behalf of a regional shipping company, in the study and analysis of the legal, regulatory and operational requirements with respect to the establishment and operation of feeder services in several countries of the West and Central African region.

PUC conducted legal due diligence on behalf of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, on Port Harcourt and Calabar Ports. PUC also led a team of investors in a Build Own and Transfer (BOT) contract negotiations with NPA for the installation and operation of port reception facilities in Nigerian ports.

PUC played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Environment Management Bill 2001 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Environment. Mfon Ekong Usoro was a member of the Inter-ministerial Bio-Safety Committee which drafted the Nigeria's Bio-Safety Guideline 2001.

Instructed by the Federal Ministry of Environment, we have completed work on the inventorization of existing legislation/guidelines on biotechnology and biosafety in Nigeria. We are also involved with other consultants in developing a National Biosafety Framework.

PUC participated in the conceptualization, development and drafting of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan which was presented to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Environment.