Saudi Arabia and the MENA Region Maritime Law and Practice
A single voyage can fall under half a dozen legal systems. Saudi Arabia is now writing the rules for its own waters.
Bedoor Tawfiq Alrabiah is a multi-award-winning Saudi lawyer, notary, and IP agent. She holds an LLB (Hons.) and an LLM from the University of West London and an LPC from the University of South Wales. She is the founder of Bedoor Alrabiah & Co., a leading Saudi law firm recognized for excellence and innovation.
Her practice encompasses a broad spectrum of legal, regulatory, and commercial matters, with experience advising and representing clients across diverse industries and jurisdictions. She has acted before courts and arbitration forums in Saudi Arabia and internationally, and has published numerous articles on a wide range of legal and regulatory issues.
Every day, ships arrive at Saudi ports carrying cargo owned by one party, financed by another, insured in a third country, and registered under a fourth flag. When something goes wrong, one question matters more than any other: whose law applies?
Saudi and MENA Maritime Law follows that question from the shoreline to the courtroom. It begins with the Kingdom’s two coasts and the borders it shares with its neighbors, then moves through the narrow straits that carry so much of the region’s trade. From there it follows the life of a ship: built, registered, financed, chartered, insured, and, when a dispute arises, arrested. Along the way it meets pilgrims crossing the Red Sea, the threat of piracy, the reach of sanctions, and a new generation of vessels that may one day sail without crews.
Written for anyone with a stake in the sea, from those who work in the industry to those who study it, this book draws on international conventions, Saudi legislation, and regional practice to explain where maritime law stands today and where it is heading.