Developing Maritime Sector in Pakistan

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand the importance of maritime sector, to consolidate all marine firms/organizations and to devise a framework to develop maritime sector in Pakistan. Accordingly, the research questions have been framed as what is the importance of ocean and its resources, how many and what type marine firms exist in Pakistan and how to develop maritime sector in Pakistan. Answering these questions is important for consolidating marine firms which may later become the basis for establishing maritime sector as it has the potential to become the cornerstone of Pakistan's economy.

Inductive approach has been adopted for this exploratory study to answer the research questions as it helps to understand the nature of the problem. Case study strategy has enabled to discover what is happening in the maritime sector globally. It is a qualitative study and the data has been gathered through books, research papers, websites, and interviews whereas the data regarding registered/unregistered companies/organizations is gathered from Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan/various trade associations and analyzed through conceptualizatio^.

Maritime sector does not exist as it is not the part of Economic Survey of Pakistan as marine resources are not being exploited to get economic benefits mainly due to lack of awareness about this sector. Developed nations have strong economies largely contributed by their maritime ectors. In developing country, Philippines has created Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to focus on its maritime industry and has achieved its primary objectives. Based On the Philippines model, a framework is devised to develop maritime sector in Pakistan.

Major limitation is the non-existence of maritime sector as a statistical entity in Pakistan. Therefore, sector boundaries are drawn on researcher's judgment which may influence the results but generally indicate the economic importance of maritime industry. Authenticity qf data obtained from Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is another issue as it does not represent the true picture of the industry. A wide gap exists between 'what' is and 'what should be' as maritime is a neglected area, therefore, this research may be the first step in developing . maritime sector in Pakistan and may open a number of operational/research activities.