What is cabotage in customs terms
Cabotage means to the transport of goods or passengers between two ports or places within the same country by a foreign shipping or transport operator. This term was earlier applicable to only shipping industry along coastal routes, port to port, but is now applicable for road, rail as well as aviation transports. However, in aviation, still there are strict restrictions on Cabotage. Many countries have cabotage laws that require domestic owned vessels to perform domestic interport water transportation service.
Cabotage restrictions are applicable in most countries to protect the domestic shipping industry from foreign competition as well as for the purpose of national security. Cabotage laws are widely utilized across transportation industries, including commercial cruise-lines, commercial airlines and charter operators. Cabotage is the restriction of the operation of sea, air, or other transport services within or into a particular country to that country’s own transport services.
In India, Centre move to relax cabotage law. This movement may be transform Indian ports into a major transhipment hub and reduction in freight rates and making Indian trade more competitive, the move would allow coastal movement of export, import or empty containers by foreign vessels leading to healthy competition among shipping lines.