Oceans & law: From reed boats to high seas |
Boat making, from Egyptians to modern shipbuilding, is not just a story of technological evolution.
From reed boats on the Nile to ships navigating high seas and modern ports, maritime transportation and trade have shaped international law and the laws of the seas. This evolution did not occur in decades but over centuries, as law was written and modernized to govern all oceanic activities. Boats and ships have been units of trade, commerce, cultural and religious exchange, communication and law. Consequently, maritime activities drove the evolution of ocean governance, from fishing rights to deep-sea mining and from piracy to navigation.
Maritime law traces back to the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1754 BC) and the Rhodian Sea Law. Hammurabi’s provisions focused on maritime trade, cargo and contracts, while Rhodian Sea Law defined commerce across the Mediterranean during the 7th and 8th centuries. In the Middle Ages, ports articulated their own rules,........