Abstract

The maritime sector is central to Myanmar’s trade, economic development, and environmental governance, yet regulatory effectiveness depends on how consistently the legal framework is enforced. This study evaluates the adequacy of Myanmar’s maritime legislation and examines how enforcement capacity shapes legislative effectiveness. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used, with survey data collected from 54 maritime stakeholders, including seafarers, ship operators, administrators, and port professionals. Descriptive statistics, reliability testing, and Pearson correlation analysis assessed relationships across five governance dimensions. Results show that Myanmar’s maritime legislation is broadly aligned with major international conventions, but enforcement capacity remains the principal constraint on practical outcomes, evidenced by a strong positive correlation between enforcement capacity and legislative effectiveness (r = .70, p < .01, R² = .49). The study concludes that institutional strengthening, improved inspection systems, and sustainability-oriented reform are essential to effective maritime governance, and that legislative expansion alone cannot close this gap.