The lawless sea: Towards a sovereign recasting of African maritime law

Africa has 38,000 km of coastline, 38 coastal states and 90% of its foreign trade by sea - yet its maritime law remains fragmented, obsolete and colonial in inspiration. This book, in six parts and 32 chapters, is based on a paradoxical observation: an exceptional maritime potential (fishery resources, offshore hydrocarbons, strategic ports) remains massively wasted for lack of a sovereign normative framework. Illegal fishing costs between 10 and 12 billion USD a year; piracy in the Gulf of Guinea diverts investment; maritime disputes are settled in London, Paris or Hamburg. The author proposes a decolonial refoundation of African maritime law: a critical assessment of international conventions (UNCLOS, SOLAS, MARPOL, MLC 2006), regional harmonization, the creation of African arbitration centers, and the integration of three emerging fronts - climate change, which threatens coastal ports, the maritime digital revolution with its legal voids, and the governance of the blue economy. The book is intended as a reference manual, a guide to reform and a plea for African maritime sovereignty.