Maritime Law, or Admiralty Law, refers to the body of law which
regulates ships, the commercial nature of shipping, navigation and
other nautical matters. The Maritime Law is particularly crucial to
nations situated by a body of water where much of the commercial
activity hinges on the shipping activity to and from the
nation.
Decree-Law No. 23/1982 on the Issuance of the Maritime Law (the
“Old Law”) was the Kingdom of Bahrain's first
coherent legislation regulating maritime law. Four decades later,
the Kingdom enacted a new Maritime Law under Decree-Law No. 10/2022
Promulgating the Maritime Law (the “Maritime Law” or
the “Law”) which draws upon new elements in relation to
vessel registration, vessel seizure and maritime commercial
activities, among other matters.
