Browsing by Author "Devine, D J"

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    Aerial jurisdiction over safety zones surrounding maritime installations
    (1989) Gough, Malcolm P; Devine, D J
    Extending the search for oil and gas into the marine areas is a relatively recent phase in the production of oil and gas. Although shallow water mining has been conducted since the 1940's, these attempts have been seen more as extensions of terrestrial mining than as serious offshore attempts. The technological feasibility of offshore oil ~nd gas mining has increased rapidly from the late 1950's onwards. 2This coincides, and more often than not is related to, recent vast developments in the Law of the Sea and pursuit of agreement by nations on vital questions related to the use and control of the sea. International law relating to the offshore oil and gas regime is therefore fairly recent in origin and, in many areas, unsettled. Lawyers have wrestled with the problems of creating a legal regime in areas beyond State sovereignty, applicable to constrictions which generally do not adequately resemble, for legal purposes, either ships or islands. In addition to the regime to be applied to the installation itself, it was soon realized that special precautions would have to be taken to ensure that loss of both life and property was kept to an absolute minimum. Offshore installations represent vast investment. _They operate on, and are exposed to, an environment which is unpredictable, powerful and on occasion violent in nature, not to mention the nature of the substances to be brought to the surface, which are dangerous, as experience has shown, in terms of inter alia, volatility and threat of pollution. One of the concepts soon arrived at was that of the safety zone, which has the obvious purpose of minimizing the possibility of collision with the installation, or crafts or objects attached to, or in the service of, the installation. Now as the concept of a safety zone suggests, and due to the fact that the installations frequently operate beyond territorial waters, it was obvious that parts of the high seas were to be affected. While uneasy agreement has been reached in the conventions on the Law of -the Sea~ in relation to shipping and respect for safety zones, the concept of aerial jurisdiction over these legally unique areas still remains a controversial one. This despite the fact that overflight of these areas is both possible and likely by almost all aircraft, and that certain aircraft, particularly helicopters, have proven vital to the operation of installations, as a means of transport and communication. In addition technology has provided, and will provide, new craft which will be classified either as ships or aircraft, and will be considered in the light of their usefulness to oil and gas installations or alternatively the threat they pose to them.
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    Legal mechanisms in modern port development: a critical analysis
    (1998) Sheard, Clive H; Devine, D J
    The purpose of this work is to give a comprehensive picture of the legal mechanisms for running a port and how modern port development can come into conflict with the relevant aspects of traditional shipping law. In the past ten years the face of port management and administration has changed dramatically. Many port authorities are calling themselves "landlord ports", and are more interested in leasing the port than in development, maintenance and administration of port facilities. This scenario, it will be seen, clearly introduced important changes for the law relating to harbours. To get a clear understanding of this issue, I have decided to divide this work into six parts. Whenever necessary, I shall first deal with the law and related issues within the traditional concept of a port I shall then show, with illustrations where possible, the positive and negative effects of modern port development on the status quo. Most of the information concerning the basis of port administration and maritime law is derived from the works in the bibliography. Nautical publications (as listed) also provided a large portion of my illustrations as do a series of interviews, both verbal and by correspondence, with companies which operate inside port arenas.
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    The merits of the regional seas: programme for Southern Africa
    (1994) Jepkosgei Boss, G; Devine, D J; Glazewski, Jan
    Regional Programmes for the Protection of the Marine Environment began with agencies and organisations that were mainly scientific in nature. These early organisations were research - oriented and although they could recommend action they had no regulatory powers, nor could they initiate any action. The oldest of such organisation is the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) established in 1902. It was active in the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea areas carrying out scientific studies with investigations concerning exploitation of living and non-living marine resources. ICES later became involved with marine pollution studies and as a result set up a committee in 1960 to deal with it. In 1967 ICES set up a working group. This was one of the first signs of regional co-operation regarding the environment. Another such organisation was the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO) now International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
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    The USA maritime enforcement regime: a model for South Africa?
    (1998) Wardley, Gordon; Devine, D J
    There has been much public debate within South Africa (RSA), especially since 1994, concerning the role of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) now that peace is the order of the day. Coupled to this is the perennial issue of insufficient funds to pay for all the services the government is expected to provide, and at the level with which all are satisfied. One of the hardest hit departments, from a budgetary point of view, is the Department of Defence (DoD), with funds been shifted to meet the ever increasing demand for socio-economic upliftment at the expense of defence. At the base of any argument concerning the issue of defence versus socio-economic upliftment, is the question of whether massive expenditure for defence in a peacetime environment is justifiable, seen in the light that many South Africans still do not have secure homes, access to acceptable education, medical facilities and potable water.