A boat sailing from Kalimantan to Sulawesi capsized in rough seas last week, leaving up to 21 people missing or dead, authorities said Friday. Six survivors clinging to the vessel’s hull were rescued on Thursday by a passing fishing boat, but one of them died while being taken to shore. Reports said the boat’s engine failed on Sunday before it capsized under three-meter high waves. Many of the dead were apparently children who became too weak to stay afloat or died of thirst and hunger. The survivors were taken to a hospital near the boat’s destination of Tolitoli Port in Central Sulawesi.© PT Laksamana Global International.
IMB praises anti-piracy efforts Malacca Strait attack would rock world economies by Michael Perry Malaysia detains Indonesian fishermen by Roy Tupai Navy sends 2 warships to Australian border by Roy Tupai WEEK 2:
(5 - 11
February 2006)
Japan pledges technical aid for Malacca Strait security U.S. Navy boards suspected pirate ship by Richard Halloran WEEK 3:
(12 -
18 February 2006)
Admiral warns of terror threat by David M. Brown Don't just fear the pirates by Chietigj Bajpaee INTTRA ramps up Malaysia monitoring SS Norway RMAF Sees Indonesian plane suitable for maritime patrol by Mohd Nasir Yusoff WEEK 4:
(19 - 25 February 2006) Australia warns of crackdown on illegal fishing China increases electronic surveillance Congress Urging an Investigation of Dubai-based DP World Dutch submarines stranded in Lumut to be sold as scraps DP World blames media for storm EADS to support development of Malaysia's high-tech sector Indian Coast Guard to join U.S. in Malacca patrols by Vivek Raghuvanshi Local ports can do more to raise country's trade competitiveness Lockheed in talks with RI, KL about surveillance in Malacca Malaysian box throughput hurt by cargo diversion by S C Chan No piracy along the Malaysia-Thai sea boundary Pelorus invents P-SafeHaven Pengusaha kapal tempatan perlu sedia bersaing Seven years jail for nine pirates Support local shipping firms’ by Sharidan M. Ali Top US agencies cleared DPW deal US to remain engaged in Asia: "Analysts say US reviewing security alliances with key Asian partners" Week 5: (26 - 28 February 2006) DP World's delay reassures Americans Fact sheet: the real threat to our ports by David Obey More Malaysian-US counter-terrorism efforts Port security multi-layered, still risky by Pamela Hess U.S. assures region it will help to protect Malacca Strait from pirates, terrorists USCG clarifies DPW revelation Year of the Turtle Inspires Countries to Conserve Ancient Species Updated 20022006
THE International Maritime Bureau has praised Indonesian authorities for stepping up anti-piracy patrols that have contributed to a dramatic fall in attacks on merchant ships. Attacks in Indonesia dropped to 79 from 94 during 2005, while 12 attacks were reported in the Strait of Malacca compared with 38 in 2004. The decline has been attributed mainly to efforts of agencies in Indonesia and the strait. “These largely came by way of Operation Gurita, a show of force in known hotspots,” the agency stated. The IMB monitors piracy attacks through its Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Ship owners have been pointing out that continuing to list the strait as a war risk zone by London underwriters is not justified given the decline of piracy incidents. Worldwide, attacks fell to 276 from 329, but the IMB annual report expressed concern over new hotspots such as Somalia, Iraq, Tanzania and Vietnam. During 2005 440 crew members were taken hostage and 23 vessels were hijacked, though no crew members were killed last year. Twelve seafarers, however, remain missing. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Sydney - A maritime terrorist attack in the Malacca Strait could send economic shockwaves around the world even it was not a major strike, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Wednesday. Admiral Gary Roughead said the risk of a terrorist attack in the strait shared by Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, one of the world's busiest sea routes, continued to rise along with the increase in global shipping and continued piracy. "The Strait of Malacca is the heaviest trafficked strait in the world, and for that reason any disruption to that commerce, not only would it affect the region, I would suggest it would have global implications," Roughead told Reuters in an interview. "I am not sure it would have to be of great magnitude. The fact that a vulnerability has been demonstrated is enough to affect trade," Roughead, head of United State's biggest naval fleet, said on the sidelines of a major naval conference in Sydney. The narrow, strategic Malacca Strait is a 500-mile waterway linking Asia with the Middle East and Europe and carries some 50,000 vessels a year. It also carries some 40 percent of the world's trade, including 80 percent of Japan's and South Korea's oil and gas and 80 percent of China's oil, according to a U.S.-Indonesia Society 2005 study on the impact of a terrorism attack in the strait. The London insurance market in 2005 classed the Malacca Strait a "war risk" zone -- adding the sea lane to a list of 21 areas such as Iraq and Colombo that it deemed high risk and vulnerable to war, strikes and terrorism. Roughead said piracy -- a major problem for ships using the Malacca Strait, along with drug and human traffickers on the high seas -- could be used by terror groups to launch an attack. "The terrorist movements and their network can use those same criminal lanes that others use," he said. "I think activity on the ocean is increasing and terrorism is a part of that." Indonesian waters pose the world's great piracy risk, accounting for almost 30 percent of reported attacks in 2005, said The International Maritime Bureau, an ocean crime watchdog. Global piracy fell in the past year, from 329 attacks in 2004 to 276 in 2005, with Indonesian attacks down from 94 to 79 and attacks in the Malacca Strait falling from 38 to 12. The bureau acknowledged anti-piracy operations by Indonesia, which saw gangs of pirates captured in 2005, for the fall. Roughead said there was still a need for greater cooperation among navies to combat maritime terrorism, citing operations already under way in the region. The four Southeast Asian nations guarding the Malacca Strait began joint air patrols over the sea lane in September 2005 to combat piracy and terrorist threats. But the weak link in maritime security was a lack of information on ships and cargoes, said Roughead, who called for global information sharing similar to the aviation industry. "You can look at an airplane flying in the world today and in almost every instance you know where it came from, who's on it, where it is going, what cargo it has, what time it left and what time it arrives," he said. "The immediate need that I see is the ability to build that maritime domain awareness. To share that information so we can look at the maritime picture and determine those ships that are of no concern and focus on ships we are more concerned about." The Pacific Fleet is the U.S. navy's largest fleet covering the Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans, with some 200 ships, 2,000 aircraft and more than 239,000 sailors. Roughead, who became commander of the Pacific fleet in December 2005, said the "war on terror" was changing the shape of the world's navies, forcing them to become more streamlined and capable of rapid, inshore deployment. "In the U.S. Navy, we have become much more flexible and much more unpredictable in our deployment patterns," Roughead said. "I believe navies of the future will be much more agile. I believe they will be more lethal, pound for pound," he said. "But navies of the future will have to operate against a wider range of threats than what we have been used to dealing with in the past -- from the transnational criminal and terrorism all the way up to the high end of combat." © Reuters 2006.
Malaysia reportedly detained 14 Indonesians caught illegally fishing in its waters on Thursday. The men in three boats were nabbed near the resort island of Pangkor, off the coast of Lumut, Navy chief Zaharuddin Maideen was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama. He said the crew confessed to entering Malaysian waters illegally on unregistered boats. The captains of the vessels cold be fined as much as 1 million ringgit ($266,600), while crew members could each be fined up to 500,000 ringgit. © PT Laksamana Global International.
While Indonesia urges Australia to return 43 Papuan asylum seekers who sailed to the country earlier this month, the Navy has deployed two warships to the maritime border with Australia, saying the move is necessary to prevent Indonesian fishermen from illegally crossing the boundary. "The Navy will continue to increase security patrols in the sea to prevent our fishermen from crossing the borders of other countries,” Navy chief Admiral Slamet Subianto was quoted as saying Friday (27/1/06) by state news agency Antara. He said the deployment of the two warships, which had been conducting patrols off Kupang, West Nusa Tenggara province, would also help to avert potential disagreements with Australia over the treatment of illegal fishermen. “Our ships must be present at the border so that foreigners will not act arbitrarily against us," he said after presiding over a graduation ceremony at the Navy Academy in the East Java capital of Surabaya. Hundreds of Indonesian fishermen have been detained by Australian authorities over the past six months for trespassing. They are generally held for about one month before being sent home at Australia's expense, while their boats are destroyed. But some of the fishermen have been prosecuted, fined and then jailed for illegal shark fishing. The United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea does not allow fishermen to be jailed for illegal fishing. But a loophole enables courts to imprison fishermen if they cannot pay their fines. Indonesia has been urging Australia to improve its treatment of detained fishermen following the deaths of two detainees over the past three years. A 37-year-old fishermen died in April 2005 while being confined to his boat in a quarantine area of Darwin Harbor. A 21-year-old fisherman died under similar circumstances in 2003. An inquest by the Northern Territory Coroner's Court has been advised that foreign fishermen detained in Australia should undergo mandatory health checks within 24 hours of their arrest. Subianto said the Navy wants to intensify patrols but only has 114 ships, well below the ideal number of 300 required to secure Indonesia’s 17,500 islands. "Therefore, the government is continuously trying to increase the number of Navy warships. The procurement is being sought from the domestic shipbuilding industry, which offers cheaper prices," he said.© PT Laksamana Global International.
Jakarta - The Japanese government has pledgedto grant technical aid consisting of detectors and patrol boats to safeguard the Malacca Strait especially from possible threat of terror, an Indonesian officer said here on Tuesday. Japan's commitment was expressed by Japanese Intelligence Body Chief Lt. Gen. Isao Mukunoki when meeting with Indonesian Military(TNI) Chief General Endriartono Sutarto in the TNI Headquarters at Cilangkap on Tuesday, according to TNI's spokesman Major General Kohirin Suganda. The Malacca Strait's security is crucial for Japan as most of Japanese tanker ships cross the world's busiest strait, said Kohirin. "Japan also asked about the developments of joint coordinated patrol among Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in safeguarding the Malacca Strait within the Malsindo framework," Kohirin was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying. Gen. Endriartono Sutarto had explained to his Japanese guest that the Standard Operational Procedure of the coordinated patrol of the three countries needed some improvement, according to him. "Cooperation in the strait includes maritime navigation and preventions of transnational crime such as smuggling, piracy and threat of terror," he said, adding, " However, the cooperation in securing the strait, was still open to other states such as Japan and the United States to join in." "We accept any technical aid from other countries to help protect the strait, but we do not want their military presence the strait," he noted. Japan's commitment to help safeguard the strait had been earlier stated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at a meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Tokyo last year. According to data, 600 vessels and 11 million barrels of oil passing through the Malacca Strait for each passing day. The coordinated patrol operations in the Malacca Strait were for the first time carried out by three littoral states - Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- within the framework of Malsindo launched in July 2004. © Xinhua News Agency.
Honolulu - The United States was striking a pre-emptive blow when it ordered a U.S. Navy destroyer to detain and board a suspected pirate ship in the Indian Ocean last month, aiming to see that terrorists do not lash up with pirates in the Asia-Pacific region. The destroyer, the USS Winston S. Churchill, was ordered to intercept the suspected pirate ship on Jan. 21 after the U.S. Central Command, from its forward headquarters in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, was contacted by the International Maritime Bureau, based in Malaysia. The maritime bureau monitors piracy all over the world, but especially in Asia. It took the U.S. warship several hours of maneuvering and firing warning shots to get the smaller vessel to surrender. A Navy boarding party then confiscated a cache of small arms to disarm the ship before sending it on its way. "This was a maritime security operation," said a Navy officer informed of events in the Indian Ocean. That effort, broadly defined, includes tracking thousands of ships, much as aircraft are monitored, knowing what cargoes the ships are carrying, driving off pirates when they attack a ship, or recovering the ship if it is seized. For several years, leaders of maritime nations from India and Sri Lanka in South Asia to Singapore and Australia and South Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia have worried that terrorists would seek alliances with pirates, particularly those operating in the South China Sea. Through that sea lane passes more international shipping each year than through the Suez and Panama canals combined. Terrorists who might seize, for instance, a large oil tanker and scuttle the vessel in the Straits of Malacca between Singapore and Indonesia would wreak economic, political, military and environmental havoc. Until now, the U.S. Navy has been reluctant to engage pirates because the service is stretched out with other duties. Asian coastal nations, meanwhile, have said they do not want outside powers, notably the United States, operating in their sovereign waters, where many pirate assaults occur. Many Asian naval officers argue that combating piracy is the job of law enforcement, not navies. Many U.S. Navy officers agree but assert that some Asian nations lack the proper ships -- small, high speed and adequately armed -- to defeat or capture pirates. Moreover, coordination and intelligence sharing among the littoral nations has not been fully developed. The war against terror has led many U.S. Navy officers to the conclusion that their service needs to be involved, if for no other reason to preserve its standing among the U.S. armed forces. Thus, said a Navy officer, "there is no overall policy on going after pirates." Rather, an internal debate seems to be rumbling through the Navy. © 2006 The Washington Times.
An international effort that includes the U.S. Navy has prevented potential terrorist attacks in Asian seas and waterways aimed at disrupting global commerce, a high-ranking Naval officer said Monday in Pittsburgh. "There has been planning that has been thwarted, so we have to be on the guard," said Vice Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, a Butler County native and commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet since August 2004. Although the fleet operates on the other side of the world, the trade it helps protect has a large impact on the U.S. economy, he said. Greenert, who spoke to reporters at Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum & Memorial in Oakland, also commands an anti-terrorism task force that includes Army Rangers, Navy Seals and an Air Force component. The Seventh Fleet's responsibility includes 52 million square miles of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The fleet includes 70 ships and submarines, nine aircraft squadrons, and about 20,000 sailors and marines. Part of the fleet's job is to keep the oceans secure for Allied and friendly nations of the regions that account for more than $220 billion in trade with the United States, according to the Navy. At least 98 percent of this commerce moves by sea. In that region, the United States also has long-standing security treaties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and the Philippines. "There is a strain of al-Qaida in Southeast Asia, called Jemaah Islamiya. They are actively pursuing a maritime terrorism capability," including diving and mining training, said Greenert, 52, a 1971 graduate of Butler High School and 1975 graduate of the Naval Academy with a bachelor's degree in ocean engineering. "There has not been (an attack) in the Seventh Fleet arena. However, there has been a host of them defused." Kate Starr, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said she could not comment on Greenert's remarks. President Bush has said Jemaah Islamiya was the organization behind a failed plot to crash a jet airplane into an office tower in Los Angeles. Greenert said the most notable terrorist training activity has occurred in eastern portions of Malaysia and the south Philippines. Within the past two years, the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have disrupted several terrorist plans in that region before they reached execution phases, and have helped foil terrorists that "might have targeted a U.S. Naval vessel," Greenert said. He said he could not be more specific because of intelligence concerns. "We've had some success," Greenert said. "The terrorism situation in the Philippines ... is improving. We have interrupted the network. We've had limited success in arrests. The literal arrests and law enforcement are generally done by" countries where terrorists are operating. The last terrorist attack against a U.S. Navy ship took place Oct. 12, 2000, when al-Qaida carried out a suicide mission against the USS Cole, a destroyer attached to the Fifth Fleet in the Gulf of Arden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors died and another 39 were injured when a small craft exploded as it approached the Cole. Greenert said the Seventh Fleet's program is part of a worldwide ocean-going anti-terrorism network. "With the help of countries (in the region) and the various intelligence networks, we patrol in and around the Southeast Asian archipelago. Our job is to interrupt, intercede and deter the movement -- in the maritime sense -- of terrorists, terrorist equipment and any terrorist acts," he said. "One of my nightmares would be a maritime terrorism attack in the Strait of Malacca," Greenert said. That relatively narrow waterway between Indonesia and Malaysia handles heavy traffic to and from the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific. About 40 percent of Asia's oil, including at least 80 percent of Japan's oil, travels through the strait, Greenert said. Japan's security is one of the Seventh Fleet's top priorities. "Symbolically alone, if there were a maritime terrorist attack in the Strait of Malacca, it would have tremendous negative impact" economically, Greenert said. "If you have any kind of free market economy, you are sort of inextricably connected out there. "The security of Asia is really very important, and the maritime piece of it is absolutely essential, so that's why we're there." Greenert spoke later yesterday to members of the Naval Reserved Officers' Training Corps at the University of Pittsburgh, including Greenert's son, Brian, 22, a junior at Pitt. © 2006 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
After an initial lull following the Asian tsunami - which devastated coastal communities and resulted in increased naval military presence in the region - piracy attacks along the Malacca Straits have resumed. With some 60,000 vessels transiting through the Malacca Straits each year, carrying half the world's oil supplies and a third of world trade, the stakes are high in maintaining stability along these sea-lanes. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it has become fashionable to cite the threats posed by non-state armed groups, including terrorists and transnational criminal organizations engaging in arms, people and narcotics trafficking. On the high seas, this has manifested itself with growing concern over piracy. It would be relatively easy to cripple shipping along the straits given that the 1,015-kilometer channel is just 2.4km wide at its narrowest point. There is a fear that an oil tanker could be used as a floating bomb and piloted into a port city such as Singapore. However, in most cases the presence of a weak state fuels the influence of non-state armed groups. The root cause of most non-state security threats is a state providing intentional or inadvertent support. There has been a proliferation of initiatives by littoral and extra-regional states to secure the straits. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have agreed to conduct joint air and sea patrols as part of the Malacca Straits Security Initiative. Every year at regional forums extra- regional states such as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States offer to play a greater role in securing the straits. However, littoral states such as Indonesia and Malaysia are reluctant to accept external assistance. Even private security organizations have become involved in the act by offering their services. Nevertheless, the race to secure the straits has highlighted a potentially more destructive threat on Asia's sea- lanes as a result of growing competition for naval supremacy in the region. This inter-state naval posturing has been fueled by the importance of the waters for international trade, as well as the presence of a series of long- standing maritime territorial disputes and reports of oil and gas deposits in the disputed waters of the region. Furthermore, while these territorial disputes are over tangible resources, many of them are rooted in intangible issues of national identity. For instance, early last year, relations between Indonesia and Malaysia hit a low when tensions flared over a territorial dispute in the Sulawesi Sea sparked by Malaysia awarding oil exploration rights in an offshore oil field in the disputed territory. A war of words ensued with racist slurs and Sukarno-era anti-Malaysian slogans accompanied by protests, attacks on Malaysian Web sites and the deployment of military aircraft and naval vessels to the disputed region. The Paracel islands in the South China Sea - occupied by China since 1974 - is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan while the Spratly chain is claimed partially by the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei, and is claimed in its entirety by Vietnam, Taiwan and China. Relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have improved in recent years with China signing onto ASEAN's Treaty of Amity of Friendship and Cooperation in 2003 and all sides signing the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002. China also began joint exploration of the disputed territory with the Philippines and Vietnam last March following the signing of the Agreement on Joint Marine Seismic Work in the Agreed Region of the South China Sea. Nevertheless, tensions remain. In violation of the 2002 agreement, five states have permanent military garrisons on the atolls in addition to surveillance facilities under the guise of "bird- watching" towers, weather huts and tourist facilities. The fact that Taiwan is not a signatory to any of these agreements is also a cause for concern. Maritime inter-state friction is not limited to the waters of Southeast Asia. Across the region, a series of maritime territorial disputes have flared up in recent months, prompting regional and international powers to augment their naval power projection capabilities. Japan has three significant maritime territorial disputes with South Korea, Russia and China over the Takeshima/ Dokdo islets, the South Kuriles/Northern Territories and the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, respectively. Japan's emergence as a "normal" country is linked to its ability to resolve these territorial disputes and to its military playing a more significant role in regional security. The territorial dispute between China and Japan over the demarcation of the East China Sea includes the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands and the Chunxiao, Duanqiao and Tianwaitian oil and gas fields. Japan regards the median line as the boundary of its Exclusive Economic Zone, while China claims jurisdiction over the entire continental shelf. Although the fields are on the mainland side of the median line, Japan claims that China may be siphoning energy resources from the Japanese side. While both sides have agreed to discuss the option of joint development, neither side is able to agree on what territory to jointly develop. A military dimension has been added to this dispute; a mainland naval destroyer took aim at a Japanese military P3-C surveillance aircraft near the disputed waters last September, and a mainland nuclear-powered submarine entered Japanese waters off the Okinawa Islands in November 2004. On several occasions, mainland research vessels have also intruded into Japanese waters without giving prior notification. Resolving this dispute is becoming increasingly difficult given the long- standing tensions over Japan's wartime legacy and recent frictions over China's opposition to Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the publication of a Japanese textbook that allegedly whitewashes wartime atrocities. The fact that the disputed territory may possess oil and gas deposits, and that China and Japan are the world's second- and third-largest oil importers respectively, presents a further element of difficulty in resolving their dispute. Coupled with the presence of these territorial disputes, regional powers are modernizing their militaries as the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region translates into expanding defense expenditures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of China, which has been gradually expanding its blue-water naval capabilities. China's core maritime interest in the region is to develop a sufficient force to deter Taiwan's declaration of independence, deter and delay US involvement in a potential conflict over Taiwan, and ensure a swift victory in a conflict over the island. Beijing is also interested in securing the narrow Malacca Straits, through which 80 percent of China's oil imports flow, and resolving maritime disputes in the region. While the issue of Taiwan is the primary driver of China's naval military modernization, the accomplishment of its primary goal is not mutually exclusive to achieving its secondary goals. Some mainland military analysts have highlighted that control of Taiwan would allow China to expand its maritime defense perimeter, increase its control over sea lines of communication and expand its naval power projection capabilities. China is pushing to acquire a national fleet of very large crude carriers that could be employed in the case of supply disruptions brought on by an accident or terrorist attack along the Malacca Straits or a US-led blockade during a conflict over Taiwan. Currently, only 10 percent of China's crude oil imports come aboard mainland vessels. China's growing anxiety over the security of its oil imports was demonstrated in June 2004 when China conducted its first anti-terrorism exercise simulating an attack on an oil tanker. China has also assisted in the development of port facilities in the region in order to bypass choke points such as the Straits of Malacca and Hormuz in case of disruptions caused by accidents or conflict along the waterways. This "String of Pearls" strategy, as it has been characterized, has been demonstrated by China's development of port facilities at Gwadar in Pakistan, at Akyab, Cheduba and Bassein in Myanmar, at the Coco Islands, and at Chittagong in Bangladesh. Beyond expanding China's naval power reach, these facilities offer alternative overland routes for China to import resources, notably energy supplies. An increasing mainland naval presence in the region is likely to draw concern from littoral states, some of which have territorial disputes and historical rivalries with China. The United States also has cause for concern given that China's attempt to strengthen its naval power projection capabilities for the purpose of securing sea-lanes and choke points could be used against the United States during a conflict over Taiwan. While the threat of terrorism and piracy is apparent in Asia, it is the combination of long-standing maritime territorial disputes, growing nationalism and defense expenditures, and increasing resource and energy needs by countries in the region that is setting the stage for a more volatile situation on the high seas of the Asia-Pacific region. [Chietigj Bajpaee is a research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. He is a former researcher for the Civic Exchange in Hong Kong.] © 2005 The Standard, Sing Tao Media Corporation.
INTTRA’S global e-commerce platform has posted strong gains in recent weeks, adding two new carriers to its network – MISC and CSAV. The latter contract also includes two constituent members of the CSAV Group, Libra and Norasia. Created in November 2000 through a $100M investment by six start-up partners (Maersk, P&O, MSC, CMA-CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud), INTTRA has since developed a growing world provider that allows shippers and forwarders to conduct business electronically with world-wide ocean carriers. Under INTTRA’s business model, carriers pay the company for the service, not forwarders or shippers. Including this month’s additions, INTTRA’s network now boasts 22 carriers representing over 61% of global container-moving capacity. INTTRA chief executive Ken Bloom had previously told Fairplay that the platform’s growth has been fuelled by the increasing demand for the cost efficiencies of e-commerce as well as by post-9/11 security concerns. Bloom predicted that carriers in the network could ultimately move the majority of their boxes using the system, with INTTRA projecting that its estimated 4M container moves last year could grow to 14M by 2008. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
MALAYSIA has cautioned owners of the laid-up cruise ship Norway that the vessel would have to leave Malaysian waters if it is deemed that the ship presents a danger to the environment. The Norway, which has been anchored off Port Klang since August last year, is said to contain about 1,250 tonnes of material with asbestos content. Malaysia’s Marine Department director Raja Malik said the department is keeping a close watch on the ship to prevent possible dumping of hazardous material into the waters. The department has insisted on the presence of a minimum number of crew including the master while the ship is at anchorage. Owner Star Cruises has declined to comment. The ship, whose name has apparently been changed to Blue Lady, is reportedly awaiting sale to breakers in the Indian sub-continent. The issue of asbestos content in ships bound for demolition at India’s Alang shipyard has erupted into a major controversy. The country’s highest court is scheduled to rule on whether the French warship Clemenceau be allowed to be dismantled. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Bandung - The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has expressed interest in using the Indonesian-supplied CN-235 military transport aircraft for maritime patrol. RMAF chief Jen Datuk Seri Nik Ismail Nik Mohamed said the plane would be suitable to patrol the Strait of Melaka and Malaysian waters with some modifications and installation of additional equipment. "The RMAF still requires aircraft for patrolling Malaysian territorial waters and we find the CN-235 already has a good platform," he said. However, the Malaysian government had not made any decision on purchasing the plane for maritime surveillance, he told Malaysian reporters after receiving a CN-235 VIP model from PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), the manufacturer of the plane, at the PRDI hangar here. Also present were Indonesian Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto and PTDI first director M. Nuril Fuad. The CN-235, a short take-off and landing aircraft powered by two turboprop engines, was developed jointly by Spanish company EADS CASA and Dirgantara. Malaysia ordered eight of the planes, two for VIP transport, at a total cost of US$140 million (RM523.6 million). The first plane was delivered in 1999 and the final Tuesday. Nik Ismail said the RMAF was satisfied with the aircraft's performance and there was no major problem even though some of the planes had flown 4,000 hours. He said RMAF had taken over maintenance of the planes although it still sourced spare parts from PTDI and from time to time sent personnel to the Indonesian company for training. © 2006 BERNAMA.
Sydney - The Australian government is drawing up plans to crackdown on illegal fishing and is monitoring a buildup of some 140 vessels in the Arafura Sea, the defense minister said Sunday. Brendan Nelson said he had asked defense chiefs to examine further ways of tackling the problem, on top of existing navy patrols and maritime surveillance. He said anyone entering Australian waters illegally would be caught and prosecuted. "We seem to have a buildup of illegal fishing boats in the Arafura Sea, in excess of some 140,'' Nelson told the Nine television network. "We will do everything we can, lawfully and diplomatically, to not only discourage them but to intercept them ... This is about the defense of Australia and we are not going to muck about,'' he added. In 2005, Australian authorities apprehended 280 illegal fishing vessels, and confiscated the fishing gear and catch of another 327. A total of 2,175 people were detained during the year for fishing illegally in Australia's northern waters, according to government figures. © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
China has rapidly increased its aerial surveillance within Japan's air-defense zones this year, the Sankei Shimbun reported Tuesday. In last year's official report on its maritime activities, China admitted mobilizing surveillance planes 146 times over disputed areas of the East China Sea, the newspaper said. According to Japan's Defense Agency, the number of flights scrambled to intercept invading Chinese planes increased from zero in 2002 to 30 incidents in recent months. Chinese reconnaissance aircraft, mainly flying over gas fields in the East China Sea, are apparently engaged in gathering electronic information such as radar frequencies emitted by Japan's Air Self-Defense jets or from ground bases, the newspaper added. © MalaysiaSun.com.
The pending sale of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O) ports to Dubai-based DP World is creating a lot of controversy in Washington. P&O is a British company that operates terminals in New York, Newark, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami and New Orleans. DP World's purchase of P&O would give it a significant presence in the U.S. maritime trade market, adding to its existing operations in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Germany, Romania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, India, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Australia. DP World, however, would not control all the shipments through the acquired US ports but would operate terminals at each location — up to 30 percent of the terminals at any one port, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Security for U.S. ports rests with law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, via the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and other agencies. The DP World terminals would have to comply with all security measures imposed on U.S. ports. Adrian Gonzalez, ARC Advisory Group, commented, "Most of the politicians voicing their opposition are concerned about the acquisition’s impact on trade security. While it’s a fair question to ask and explore, other factors are arguably compromising security more directly and seriously than this business transaction. Last April, for example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on the status of the Container Security Initiative (CSI), a program launched by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in January 2002 to target and inspect high-risk cargo from foreign seaports before they depart to the US. The GAO reported that about 35 percent of the shipments from CSI ports were not targeted or subjected to inspections due to staffing issues. The report also noted that CPB ‘has limited assurance that inspections conducted are effective at detecting and identifying terrorists weapons of mass destruction’ because minimum technical requirements for detection equipment do not exist. Why didn’t his report illicit the same fevered response from politicians as this acquisition is creating?" "The ownership of US ocean ports by a foreign, state-owned entity is a legitimate topic for debate. And while concern for security is certainly a factor, it shouldn’t be the overriding one because other factors and initiatives are impacting security far more directly. Regardless of how this acquisition pans out, the fact still remains that the weakest link in trade security is that one person, at a foreign location, loading a container at a manufacturing plant, driving a truck, or working at a port. By the time a container or shipment reaches US ports and borders, it’s too late. ‘Pushing back the borders’ was, after all, the main driving force for the creation of CSI and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)." © 2006 ARC Advisory Group, Inc.
Kuala Lumpur - Tijgerhaai and Zwaardis, both Dutch submarines, that was once offered for sale to Malaysia will end up in the scrapyard. The diesel-powered submarines were stranded in Lumut for the last five years. PSC Naval Dockyard's Submarine Department Head Muhammad Razalina said the submarines could no longer move unless major repairs are done on the engines. "A tender to dismantle the submarines will be called by the Dutch government soon. We will get the tender as they are in Lumut," he told Bernama. The owner of the submarines, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM), had accumulated debts as it had to pay PSC for the safekeeping service and the rental of the wharf for the last five years, he said. The debt had been settled by the Dutch government, he said. Tijgerhaai and Zwaardis came to Lumut five years ago after RDM enlisted PSC as its partner in a bid to sell them to Malaysia for training purpose. The same tactic was done by German Naval Group (GNG) who collaborated with PSC to win a tender to build 27 patrol vessels. The tactic was successful as the tie-up provided GNG the upperhand over its competitor from Australia. Many were convinced that RDM would secure the contract as the submarines were already in Malaysia. Many also thought that the vessels in fact had been purchased by the Royal Malaysian Navy. Among RDM's competitors in the submarine project were Kockums whose submarines are used by Singapore, DCN International and another German company that offered Type 209 submarines. DCN International won the bid. It is now building two diesel-powered Scorpene submarines and an Agosta-class submarine for training. When RDM lost the bid, Tijgerhaai dan Zwaardis were stranded. The bills to safekeep the vessels and to allow them to stay in Lumut have accumulated into millions of American dollars. According to the Dutch press, the Dutch government was concerned that the submarines could be seized by the Malaysian authorities because RDM owed a big sum to PSC. They were also worried if their technology used in the submarines were to slip into the hands of a foreign party. RDM could not do anything because of its weak financial position. Not only Malaysia that had refused to buy, Egypt and Indonesia also declined the 40-year-old submarines. Finally, the Dutch government intervened and forked out its own money to pay RDM's debts and the cost of dismantling the submarines that is expected to be carried out in Lumut this year. © 2006 BERNAMA.
SENIOR executives at DP World have blamed the media for whipping up controversy in the US over the company’s $6.8Bn takeover of P&O port interests, in a deal set to be concluded on 2 March. DP World chairman Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem said the media lay behind the ‘crisis’, but he welcomed remarks made by US President George W Bush in which Bush threatened to veto any Congressional legislation blocking the Dubai firm’s takeover of port operations in the US. “We are very encouraged by his remarks,” he said. Meanwhile DP World CEO Mohammad Sharaf dismissed reports that a delegation from the company had gone over to the US to lobby for the deal. “We are a big company and we have our own people based in the US,” Sharaf added. DP World’s chief operating officer, US citizen Ted Bilkey, has strongly defended the deal on American media outlets, saying the company would co-operate fully in making sure the terminals were safe. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Singapore - European aero-space and defence company, EADS, said it is ready to contribute further to the development of high technology industry in Malaysia. The company believes in cross-border industrial cooperation to build long-lasting relationship to further support its customers and develop its business. "We are keen to cooperate with the Malaysian industry. "Through our divisions and business units, EADS has already established very solid industrial partnerships in Malaysia. "Based on a broad product portfolio, EADS can offer Malaysia many different possibilities," its senior vice-president for South-East Asia-Pacific Pierre Jaffre said. Jaffre cited the Government's purchase of four A400M military airlifters as an example. "Malaysia is now involved in one of the most successful international defence programmes. "We offered it only to a few countries. We are pleased that Malaysia has capitalised on this," Jaffre told Malaysian journalists ahead of the 13th and final edition of the Asian Aerospace 2006 here. The Government signed the purchase agreement for the airlifters at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Show in Langkawi last December. Through the agreement, the local aerospace and defence industry will receive initial high-technology work packages worth RM1 billion for the design and manufacture of A400M airframe components to be delivered worldwide. Jaffre acknowledged that Malaysia was offered to be part of the aircraft's industrial programme due to the capabilities of Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM), an established partner of EADS. CTRM will soon be a second-tier supplier to Airbus, which is an EADS company. It was recently awarded a 20-year extension contract worth RM800 million to make Airbus' A320 structural composite wing components at its Batu Berendam facility in Malacca. With the contract, CTRM will be the largest composite wing component supplier for the A320 series. "We are constantly looking for partners in Malaysia especially for (manufacture) of metal parts. "We undertake audits on a monthly basis (to look for more partners)," he said. Jaffre said the company also waits in anticipation of what is in store in the Ninth Malaysia Plan to see what it can offer to the Government in terms of products and services and industrial partnerships. © The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad.
India’s maritime surveillance force, the Indian Coast Guard, will team with the United States to jointly patrol the Strait of Malacca as part of Washington’s initiative against maritime terror. The joint effort was announced during a Feb. 13-17 conference organized by the U.S. Coast Guard, at Alameda, Calif., attended by British, German, Japanese, South Korean, Australian, Russian and U.S. representatives, according to Indian Defence Ministry officials. The approaches to the Strait of Malacca, a narrow stretch of water between West Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, are dominated by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. One quarter of the world’s trade and most of the oil from the Middle East is ferried through the strait. Though India does not openly favor joining the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), Defence Ministry officials here said the Indian Coast Guard’s participation in the patrols could be seen as a back-door entry to the inititiave, which is aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. PSI will come up during the March visit here of U.S. President George W. Bush, Defence Ministry officials said. Along with the United States, 10 other nations have joined the PSI — Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The provisions of the PSI allow member nations to stop suspect planes and ships in sovereign waters and airspace, and search them for illegal weapons. New Delhi has not favored joining the PSI, fearing being isolated from its neighbors. © DefenseNews.com.
Kuala Lumpur - While some ports in Malaysia including Port Klang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas have gained international recognition for their efficiency, much more can still be done by the ports in the country to give a competitive edge to Malaysia's trade sector, says a Research Fellow with the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, Nazery Khalid. The process of globalisation and liberalisation has increased trade between Malaysia and other world nations and this is expected to generate more development and economic progress in the country where a majority of its trade is carried out through the maritime sector. In view of this, ports in Malaysia would have to raise their competitiveness to provide an edge for the country's growing trade, he said. A MIMA statement here quoted Nazrey as saying this today in his briefing to the complex and port managers of the Fisheries Development Board in Pulau Pinang. He said that several leading ports in Malaysia have become part of a complex chain of network playing a strategic role in providing a smooth process for trading, he said. "For a country that depends on its trade for its economy, such as Malaysia, the ports are like pulse points in the development of its economic expansion," Nazery said. Is is estimated that 90 percent of Malaysia's trade with its trade partners are carried out through shipping. "Without ports that are competitive, we would not be able to handle this much of trade and this will reduce our competitiveness in the eyes of foreign investors," he said. With competition getting more steep and better integration with the inner land areas, there is a call from the economic sector for a more proactive and dynamic role from the ports, he said. Nazery said that ultimately it should be the needs of the consumers which are supply-oriented, that should determine the Malaysian ports' move towards reaching a more competitive tariff structure, higher value added services, reduced time of waiting and processing. These would retain their competitiveness, he said. © BERNAMA
Singapore - Lockheed Martin Corp., the biggest U.S. defense contractor, said Thursday it is in talks with Indonesia and Malaysia to supply technology for airborne security surveillance in the pirate-infested Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest sea routes. The company might propose a combination of aircraft and unmanned aerial monitoring systems to boost the ability of both countries to watch over their waters, said Thomas Lewis, director of Lockheed's maritime surveillance aircraft program. "Lockheed has talked to both Indonesia and Malaysia," Lewis told The Associated Press while attending the Asian Aerospace show in Singapore. "We've talked about a number ofdifferent scenarios. That dialogue will continue." Lewis said affordability was a key issue for the countries, which have previously stated they lack funds to acquire more patrol aircraft with radar to locate small boats normally used by pirates in the 900-kilometer strait. Lockheed, based in Bethesda, Maryland, will work with Indonesia and Malaysia on measures to help them foot the bill, which could include cooperation with Malaysian firms to build components for the surveillance technology, Lewis said.Lewis did not provide financial details or a timeframe for the negotiations. Each year, about 50,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce, use the Malacca Strait, which separates peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island. Officials reported 12 pirate attacks in the strait last year, and some foreign governments and security experts have voiced fears that terrorists might target ships passing through it.Lewis noted that better security could help curb additional insurance premiums levied for trips in the strait. "We could deploy unmanned systems and monitor the strait virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. The Lloyd's Market Association, a British-based group of insurance underwriters, last June put the strait on its list of high risk areas, requiring shippers to pay further insurance charges of as much as US$5,000 (euro4,200) a trip. Indonesia and Malaysia, together with Singapore, began coordinated maritime patrols in the strait in 2004, and also launched a joint air patrol initiative with neighboring Thailand last September. © The Jakarta Post.
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's container port throughput registered a moderate growth of 4.5 percent to 12 million TEUs last year, with most of the business accounted for by the west coast ports along the Straits of Malacca. The five main ports in West Malaysia - Port Klang's Northport and Westport, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Johor Port and Penang Port - accounted for 95 percent of the total with the rest taken up by the smaller ports in East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah). Northport's 2.1 percent decline in container throughput in 2005 was described by some port officials as a disturbing trend. The same trend, say market analysts, was also reflected in the slowdown in PTP's throughput growth of about three percent compared with 15.2 percent growth in 2004. This was a result of diversion of some of the large transhipment cargo from China, usually handled by the two Malaysian ports, as well as the result of increasing direct services from Chinese ports on the Europe and west coast trades, they said. "After the loss of Maersk-Sealand to PTP three years ago, PSA Singapore worked hard to protect their position through new investments overseas, especially in some Chinese ports, and by offering more competitive rates and services,'' Malaysian-owned regional container operator HUBLine managing director Dennis Ling told Cargonews Asia. Westport, located north of Northport at Pulau Indah, was the only Malaysian port to register double-digit growth last year with 2.91 million TEUs, up 14 percent from the previous year. Westport has fewer lines than Northport but it has more lines using the port as a transhipment hub and has attained an efficiency level comparable to the best in the world, according to market analysts. Penang Port in the north of the Malaysian peninsula saw its throughput increase marginally from 772,000 TEUs in 2004 to 794,500 TEUs, representing largely local cargo, with transhipment cargo moving by rail and road to southern Thailand and Sumatra. PTP's sister port, Johor Port, saw throughput of 836,744 TEUs, largely local cargo from industries located in the southern peninsula. The east coast port of Kuantan saw throughput of 119,000 TEUs in 2005 decline three percent from the previous year's 122,700 TEUs due to the diversion of cargo to west coast ports via road and rail. The new Bintulu Container International Terminal (BICT), located on the northern Sarawak coast, offers alternative direct services to and from North Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Apart from HUBline, Evergreen also makes regular scheduled calls at the Bintulu port, with transhipment cargo sent by feeder vessels by smaller lines to other local ports, such as Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, as well as to West Kalimantan ports, such as Pontianak. BICT, East Malaysia's single largest container port, last year handled about 150,000 TEUs, a marginal increase from 2004. Abdul Nasser, BICT's container terminal operations senior manager, told Cargonews Asia he expected further growth in container traffic this year, with growing containerisation of timber products such as middle-density fibreboard from the timber-rich Bintulu region. The Senari Container Terminal in Kuching last year handled 143,000 TEUs but its growth is constrained because of shallow draft. A new container port at Sepanggar Bay, near Kota Kinabalu, is being built, and when completed in two years it is expected to offer facilities for transhipment of cargo to southern Philippines. Sabah's new port operating company Suria Capital is spending US$40 million on a new container facility, which will have a 200,000 TEU capacity per annum, and complement Kota Kinabalu port that is operating beyond capacity. Kota Kinabalu handled 120,000 TEUs in 2005. "With better port services and more direct services into the region, one can expect the national container load to be more evenly distributed among ports, especially in Sarawak and Sabah, as well as Brunei,'' HUBLine's Ling said.
Factbox - Throughput of Malaysia's container ports:
Westport - 2004(TEUs): 2.51 million; 2005(TEUs): 2.91 million
Northport - 2004(TEUs): 2.69 million; 2005(TEUs): 2.63 million
PTP - 2004(TEUs): 4.02 million; 2005(TEUs): 4.17 million
Johor Port - 2004(TEUs): 803,895; 2005(TEUs): 836,744
Penang Port - 2004(TEUs): 772,000; 2005(TEUs): 794,500
Kuantan Port - 2004(TEUs): 122,700; 2005(TEUs): 119,000
Sarawak ports - 2004(TEUs): 353,373; 2005(TEUs): 360,000
Sabah ports - 2004(TEUs): 210,000; 2005(TEUs): 208,000
Total of 2004: 11.5 million(TEUs)
Total of 2005: 12 million(TEUs)
Satun (Southern Thailand) - There was zero piracy along the Malaysia-Thai sea-boundary during the past three years due to the close cooperation between the marine police of both countries especially in carrying out patrols. Bukit Aman Marine Police commander SAC1 Abdul Rahman Ahmad said fishermen and shipping crew need not worry about their safety whenever they were within the sea boundary of the two countries as their security was guaranteed. Piracy along the Malaysia-Thai sea boundary was rampant in the 1990's. "No piracy incidents were reported since 2003 due to the close cooperation between the marine police of Malaysia and Thailand," he said at a press conference after the monthly discussion with the Thai Marine Police in Thai waters near Pulau Panjang, Satun here. The Thai Marine Police team was led by Southern Region Commander, Colonel Sombat Thinrat. The discussion on board the Malaysian Marine Police patrol boat PX2 was also attended by senior officers of both countries besides media representatives. © BERNAMA.
Pelorus principal consultant Captain Mohd Zazilah Mohd Razuky said this project was a testament that P-SafeHaven is a world-class system developed locally utilising the latest technology and unique methodologies believed to be a first in Malaysia. “This was made possible through our foreign partner, the STC Group of Rotterdam that provided the necessary advice, guidance and sharing of experiences in their worldwide port projects in the development of the system,” he said. Mohd Zazilah said P-SafeHaven provided critical resources and capabilities needed during any emergency response. “The tools, databases, checklists, and incident reporting capabilities that are embedded in the DPIRS facilitates the coordination of response to any type of incidents, be it small or large scale, by any responder including fire fighters, law enforcement, emergency medical, and other public safety personnel,” he said. DPIRS features monitoring console, incident alert and management, standard operating procedures and checklists, emergency contact directory, incident reporting, resource library and administrator tools. “The P-SafeHaven runs on any desktop or laptop PC running on Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or XP Tablet PC Edition operating system. “The system is scaleable to the requirement of small or large organisation and supports the full spectrum of response including planning, training, exercising, and response. “DPIRS gives users the capability to organise all information needed during an emergency response with one, easy to use program,” he said. Not only it will house the encyclopaedia of the port, Mohd Zazilah said the most effective methods of response that can protect critical facilities, minimise damage, saving lives and ensure the business continuity of an organisation. “Pelorus hopes to market this cost–effective system to more ports and terminals in its aspiration to see this advanced technology be more widely used in Malaysia and the region,” he said, adding that for Middle East market, the company was promoting it in United Arab Emirates. “The development of the system started with the port audit of all seven ports in Sabah in 2004. “A follow-up with a quantitative risk assessment for all the facilities and development of the ERP manual were also carried out. “The information was then digitised, configured and linked to be versatile and user-friendly,” he said. He said a field exercise was conducted for each of the seven ports to ensure that every critical element of the system was tested addressing the peculiarities of each port. “Sabah Ports key personnel were all trained to use the system and all personnel were involved in the incident response exercise, he said. Apart from the port system, he said Pelorus was also developing the incident response system for the shipping and power industries. “As a crisis management consultant to both these sectors, Pelorus is expected to complete the additional two softwares soon called P-SafeShip and P-SafePower. © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Kuching - Pengusaha-pengusaha kapal tempatan perlu bersedia untuk bersaing dengan syarikat antarabangsa walaupun kerajaan sentiasa memantau perkembangan sektor berkenaan serta memberi bantuan sewajarnya. Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi berkata, setiap syarikat di negara ini tanpa mengira bidang masing-masing juga perlu berdaya saing sebagai persediaan menghadapi cabaran yang semakin getir. "Jika dalam industri perkapalan perkembangan syarikat agak ketinggalan dan jumlahnya masih tidak mencukupi, kerajaan akan terus memantau dan jika perlu kerajaan akan menambah syarikat tempatan," katanya kepada pemberita di sini, hari ini. Abdullah berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas kebimbangan Pengerusi Eksekutif Halim Mazmin Bhd., Tan Sri Halim Mohammad Rabu lalu bahawa pengecualian kepada penggunaan kapal daftar asing untuk membawa kargo sewenang-wenangnya dalam negara menjejaskan pengusaha kapal tempatan terutama bumiputera. Menurut Halim, pemberian pengecualian itu perlu dikaji semula kerana sesetengah penyewa didapati sengaja mengelirukan Lembaga Pelesenan Kapal Dalam Negara (DSLB) yang diletakkan di bawah Kementerian Pengangkutan. Beliau mendakwa mempunyai bukti kukuh penyewa memberi maklumat mengelirukan kepada DSLB bagi mendapat pengecualian itu. Menurut Perdana Menteri, kerajaan mahu syarikat tempatan melibatkan diri 100 peratus dalam pembangunan negara dan tidak berharap kepada kekuatan syarikat asing semata-mata. "Pada waktu ini ada perubahan positif. Contohnya pembinaan lebuh raya dahulu kita pakai syarikat dari Korea dan sebagainya, tetapi kini telah melibatkan syarikat negara kita dan mungkin apabila kita memerlukan kemahiran yang khusus baru ada penyertaan kontraktor luar," kata beliau. Di Putrajaya, kata Abdullah, pembangunan bandar baru yang menjadi pusat pentadbiran juga dilaksanakan oleh kontraktor tempatan dengan menggunakan barangan dalam negeri. "Komponen bangunan yang digunakan dibuat di negara ini, kita berkembang dan ada ruang serta peluang untuk kontraktor di dalam negara mengambil bahagian dalam aspek pembangunan," kata beliau. Sementara itu, ketika berucap pada Majlis Makan Malam Semua Kaum di Dewan Santapan Dewan Undangan Negeri, Petra Jaya, di sini, malam ini, Abdullah berkata, mandat yang diberikan rakyat kepada Barisan Nasional (BN) bukan untuk berlagak atau menunjuk kuasa. Sebaliknya, pemimpin BN yang terpilih bersedia menghambakan diri kepada rakyat. Mengenai tarikh pilihan raya negeri ini, beliau menyerahkan sepenuhnya kepada Ketua Menteri, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yang juga Pengerusi BN Sarawak untuk menentukan tarikh yang sesuai. "Saya tidak ada masalah langsung dan bila ditetapkan tarikh yang sesuai, maka berjalanlah proses pilihan raya yang menjadi amalan demokrasi," katanya. © Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd.
Alor Star - The Sessions Court here Sunday meted out seven years jail sentence for each of the nine Indonesians who pleaded guilty for robbing a crude oil tanker, Nepline Delima, in Langkawi waters last June. They are Lukman Daim, 35, Johan Ariffin, 44, Ruatam Pangabean, 58, all three from Batam, Ismail Ataleb, 25 from Lhokseumawe, and the rest Irfan Muluna Adam, 25, Junaidi Abdul Rahman, 29, Hashim Adam, 26, Mukalis M. Ali Omar, 29 and Afizal Razali, 27, from Aceh. Judge Maznah Abdul Aziz in handing down the sentence ordered them to run from last 15 June, the date they were arrested. The were alleged to have committed the offence at the waters between Kuala Muda and Langkawi on June 14 between 4 am and 12.25 pm using parang. They were charged under Section 395 of the Penal Code and sentenced under Section 397 of the same act that provides a maximum jail term of 20 years and canning. However, another of the accused, Wisnu Probowo, 34, from Balek Padang pleaded not guilty on the charges read and Maznah set hearing on coming 28 and 29 May. Wisnu who pleaded guilty earlier Sunday changed his plea on grounds he did not understand the charges read to him on last July 10. © 2006 BERNAMA.
The demand for shipping is expected to sustain its development this year, influenced by the general prediction of a 5.3% growth in the economy. Malaysian Shipowners Association (MASA) chairman Nordin Mat Yusoff said the overall demand for shipping was usually influenced by the economic forecast. “After an impressive 7.4% growth rate posted in 2004, we witnessed the rate moderating last year to just above 5%. “According to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), Malaysia is to sustain its economic growth at 5.3% this year,” he said. Under such a scenario, he said the shipping industry too, would be expected to maintain its pace in 2006. "However, most shipping companies performed creditably well last year due to high sales and purchase market conditions as well as steep increases in freight and charter markets. “Thus, many shipping companies notched exceptional performance in 2005 owing to high freight rates while several others profited from extraordinary gains made from the sale of vessels,” he said. However, he said this was not expected to happen in 2006 as the markets had started to plateau off. “In some cases such as the dry bulk and container trades, it has even started to soften and the trend is expected to carry on. “The softening is also due to the increase in supply capacities with the delivery of new buildings during the year and in 2007 since many ship owners rushed to build vessels on account of the buoyant market condition in the last two years,” he said. As shipping is an international industry, Nordin said they expected some of the local companies would also be affected by the prognosis of world economic growth. “This year, the US economy is forecasted to slow down further as higher interest rates is expected to have its impact on growth. “China’s soft-landing policies too are likely to moderate to development prospects in the region,” he said. On the factors that are expected to impede the growth of the local maritime industry, he said MASA did not anticipate any severe obstacles. “Nevertheless, increasing operating costs will continue to be a major threat due to the increase in the price of bunker fuel. “The de-pegging of the Malaysian
Ringgit last July could also create negative implications to some of the shipping lines that are exposed to international trading,” he said. On top of that, Nordin said an unprecedented increase in the entry of a raft of new measures was also affecting the industry. “We have seen the entry of several rules and regulations in the last two years, including the recent entry of the unified structural rules for tankers and bulk carriers,” he said. He added that this would affect the whole system of ship design and construction. “We are also witnessing new rules on safety, security and standards of crew and operation as well as technical standards,” he said adding that there had been a modest increase in premium for hull insurance cover as well. At the international level, he said MASA was aware of the possible impact arising from the proposed move by the European Commission to abolish liner conferences and end collective pricing that could hurt the container liner industry. “In lieu of the new rules and regulations, MASA is responsible for promoting greater awareness on the need and demand for quality shipping among local ship owners. “My immediate focus will therefore be to create this awareness on new levels of safety, security and standards among our members . “This is vital since a large portion of our members are only serving coastal and short sea trades and they may have erroneous view that the new standards and rules only apply in international shipping,” he said. He said MASA would also foster closer cooperation with regional and other national ship owners’ bodies such as the Asian Shipowners Forum and Federation of Asean Shipowners Associations. “As ship owners, we cannot act in isolation since shipping is a truly global industry and there is a need for consensus on what affects us individually or collectively,” he said. Aside from the need to foster quality shipping as a long-term plan, MASA is committed to addressing other issues and measures in light of the expansion of our national fleet. “There is a need for relevant existing sections of the Income Tax Act 1967 to be reviewed alongside income derived from the business of chartering of foreign vessels and bare boat out of Malaysian ships, pooling arrangements of Malaysian ships, time-charter hire payments to non residents and Malaysian seafarers working on vessels chartered by Malaysian shipping companies,” he said. He said MASA also wanted the Government to consider giving tax exemption to supply vessels used in offshore industry such as barges, tug boats, supply vessels, crew boats, lighters and dredgers. “There is also the need to focus on manpower training and facilities. “The expansion of the maritime industry has spawned sharp increases in the demand not only for seafarers but also skills in shore-based services such as ship broking, marine engineering and logistics,” he said. Nordin added that there was also a need to review some of the antiquated laws and regulations that affected the ship owning industry in the country, particularly the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. “The entry of some international conventions issued by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and ratified by us also need prompt national response from our shipping administration,” he said. Nordin said the association also would like the authority to persuade government-linked companies to support national shipping companies by giving greater commitment to ship cargo on Malaysian-flagged vessels. “It is estimated that about 20% of the national cargo is carried by Malaysian-registered ships but the share in the carriage of specific commodity types varies. “For instance, almost the entire export of LNG is carried by Malaysian-registered ships but we carry less than 10% of the containerised trades,” he said. From the analysis, he said it was evident that the share of Malaysian-registered ships in the carriage of other commodities was insufficient. “Overall, the share of trade carried by national shipping lines is inadequate and we are still very far from attaining self-sufficiency in shipping. “This was been made worse last year when Malaysian-registered vessels totaling about 15% of the national tonnage were sold off by various local ship owners who took advantage of the high prices of the ships,” he said. Currently MASA has a total 83 ship owners of 10mil dwt combined fleet strength, making up 80% of the total national fleet. © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
WHITE House officials stressed yesterday that DP World’s takeover of some terminal operations at US ports passed muster with American intelligence agencies and was approved by all administration departments involved in the process. During his daily press briefing, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said: “this was a transaction that was closely scrutinized by the experts - by the counterterrorism experts, by the intelligence community, and those who are responsible for protecting the American people. No-one in those departments objected to this transaction going forward.” He added that President Bush, who only learned of the deal after it was approved, went back to “every Cabinet member whose department is involved in this process and asked them if they were comfortable with this transaction going forward – and each and every one expressed that they were comfortable with this transaction going forward.” In addition, McClellan said and DPW officials confirmed yesterday that US officials were made privy to reams of sensitive company documents regarding operations and agreed in a “letter of undertaking” to be subject to even greater security scrutiny than at other US ports. The US Congress has already announced plans to begin hearings on the $6.8Bn deal on Tuesday, and have threatened to pass legislation to block it if added reviews are not conducted – a bill Bush says he would veto. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Singapore - The United States is stepping up its military engagement in the Asia-Pacific region to counter-balance the rise of China, and to confront the threat from terrorism, analysts said on Monday. As the centre of geopolitical gravity shifts from Europe to Asia, Washington is reviewing its security alliances with key Asian partners including Japan, South Korea and Australia, and forging new ties with India and other emerging powers. “What has been clearly seen out of these reviews is that America is not retreating,” said General Paul V Hester, Hawaii-based commander of US Pacific Air Forces. “America is not withdrawing from the Pacific. Instead, you are seeing... that America is turning more and more of its side picture toward the Pacific,” Hester told a conference in conjunction with Asian Aerospace, the world’s third-biggest air show which begins here Tuesday. In one example of that shift, the US Navy has decided that a second aircraft carrier battle group should focus on the Asia Pacific region, Hester said. After a struggle over whether to station the carrier group in Guam or Hawaii, a decision was made to base the carrier at a mainland US port. “But it will focus its attention this way,” he said. A carrier group has been based in Japan for many years. There have been concerns that Washington has focused more on the Middle East and the fight against terrorism following the September 11, 2001 attacks which killed about 3,000 people in the United States. Without naming any countries, Hester said there has been a “revitalisation” of military capabilities in Asia but Washington’s move to strengthen its engagement should not be seen as a threat. Hester said containment of any country was no longer US policy. But he cited North Korea and said vestiges of the Cold War remained in Asia. The Stalinist nation is locked in a standoff with the United States and other powers over its nuclear weapons ambitions. Containment was the term given to the Cold War US policy of countering the Soviet Union. With the region facing lingering security challenges including North Korea, the Taiwan Straits, China-Japan tensions, terrorism, insurgency and maritime security, it is in Australia’s interest for the United States to remain regionally engaged, said Peter Abigail, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. “The continuing engagement of the United States in the affairs of Asia, particularly in the management of flashpoints, is a critical element in the maintenance of stability,” Abigail told the conference. With many regional nations conceding a “regional superpower status” to China, the US attitude towards Beijing “is perhaps the most important factor” in maintaining regional peace and stability, Abigail said. How the United States deals with Beijing is of particular interest to the region as China has emerged as a major export market for Asian goods, analysts said. © Daily Times (Pakistan).
Congressional republicans are accepting DP World’s offer of a 45-day delay in asserting control over the US terminals it will acquire this week and will relent on passing laws to block the deal. Congressmen Peter King, the New York republican who heads the House Homeland Security committee, had been a major player in condemning the P&O sale to DPW, but said over the weekend that he is satisfied with the arrangement that will have US operations housed under a “completely separate business unit” while the deal undergoes another, more thorough probe on possible implications to national security. The sale, involving terminal and stevedoring contracts at more than 20 US ports, was already cleared during a month-long probe by the US Committee on Foreign Investment. Democrats, including New York Sen Charles Schumer, welcomed the second probe, but said he is still concerned about the UAE firm running US terminals. While both he and fellow democrat Hillary Clinton say they plan legislation to compel the White House to release details of the security probe to Congress, threats of a “veto proof” bill banning the sale have been quelled. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Since September 11th Bush and Republicans have resisted crucial funding to protect uur ports from terrorists. "And we're working hard to make sure your job is easier, that the port is safer.... America will be better protected... No, we're better and stronger and wiser today than we were. We're working harder than ever before." - Remarks by the President on Homeland Security, Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, June 24, 2002. This last week the White House has been quick to remind the public that port security lies in the hands of federal border agents, the Coast Guard, port authorities and police agencies. But a look at their record shows they have opposed needed funding for these agencies at every opportunity, putting our ports at risk. In 2003 the Coast Guard estimated that it would need $7.2 billion for port facility and operational needs to fully implement the security requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act. (Federal Registry, July 1, 2003 p. 39272) But, the Bush Administration has never proposed funding for port security grants, the grants used to pay for these needs. Congressional Republicans have done little better, providing only $910 million for the distinct port security grant program and operation safe commerce since the 9/11 attacks. The need is real and well documented:
. Even before 9/11, in 2000, the Interagency Commission on Crime and Security concluded American ports were highly vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. (Report, Fall 2000)
. This year, a report by the New York State Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs found problems at the ports of New York and New Jersey. Specifically, they found: law enforcement officials were confused about their jurisdiction; no uniform system exists to verify the identities of those entering the port; the Coast Guard is overstretched in trying to help with port security; and that only a small percentage of cargo is inspected when it arrives. [Congressional Quarterly, Jan. 31, 2006]
. In March 2005, a Government Accountability Office report found that "assessing the progress made in securing seaports is difficult, as these efforts lack clear goals defining what they are to achieve and measures that track progress against these goals." (GAO-05-448t)
TIMELINE: House Democrats have tried to increase funding for port and maritime security every year since 9/11. House Republicans and the Bush Administration have opposed them at every turn.
2002 Emergency Supplemental Funding (Department of Defense Appropriations Bill)
. In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, despite warnings that our ports were woefully unprepared for terrorist attacks, President Bush requested no funding for port security grants and only $203 million for increased Coast Guard homeland security operations. Later that year, the Hart-Rudman Commission reported that port security was underfunded and seaports were still vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
. When congressional staff asked what it would cost to adequately protect our ports senior Coast Guard personnel said they had been instructed by the White House and their superiors within the Department of Transportation not to discuss the agencies budget needs with Congress.
. On November 6th, 2001, in a nose-to-nose meeting at the White House, President Bush told key Congressional leaders that he understood a number of them wanted to add additional funding for homeland initiatives - including port security - but that the administration had asked for enough money and if Congress approved additional funds for that purpose he would veto the bill.
. On November 28th, 2001, Democrats supported an amendment by Dave Obey (D-WI) on the House Floor to increase Coast Guard port security operations by $165 million and direct grants to individual ports for security assessments and enhancements by $200 million. The Administration opposed the Obey amendment, saying "additional funding is not needed at this time and should not be included." On the House floor Republicans voted against allowing the amendment 216-211 (Roll Call 454)
. The final homeland security supplemental included only $6 million more than the President had requested for the Coast Guard and only $93 million for port security grants.
2002 Terrorist Attacks Emergency Supplemental
. Five months later, the President conceded that additional homeland security funding for the Coast Guard was necessary and requested $255 million for the Coast Guard. The Bush request did not include funding for port security grants.
. The second 2002 supplemental provided an additional $125 million for port security grants and operation safe commerce not requested by Bush. After this funding was enacted, the Bush Administration proposed to take the $105 million for direct port security grants and use it to instead fund TSA salaries and expenses. The Congress denied the President's request. (PL 107-206)
2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental
. On April 3, 2003 Democrats supported an Obey amendment to increase funding to improve port and infrastructure security by $722 million on the House floor. Republicans blocked consideration of the amendment by a vote of 221 to 200 (Roll Call Vote 103).
. The final bill included only $20 million for port security grants.
2004 Homeland Security Appropriations Act
. On June 17th, 2003, Democrats supported an Obey amendment in the House Appropriations Committee to increase port and maritime security by $500 million. Republicans defeated the amendment on a party line vote. (House Report 108-169, p. 97)
. On June 24th, 2003, Democrats again supported the amendment to increase port and maritime security by $500 million on the House floor. Republicans blocked consideration of this amendment by a vote of 222 to 200. (Roll Call Vote 305)
. On September 17th, 2003, during a meeting of the House and Senate conferees, Representatives Obey and Sabo, and Senator Byrd offered an amendment to increase funding to enhance port and maritime security by $475 million. Republicans defeated this amendment on a party line vote.
. The final appropriation for port security grants was only $124 million.
2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
. On June 9th, 2004, Democrats supported an Obey amendment in the Appropriations Committee to increase port and container security by $400 million. Republicans defeated the amendment on a party line vote. (House Report 108-541, p. 128)
. On June 18th, 2004, Democrats supported the same amendment to increase port and container security by $400 million on the House Floor. Republicans refused to allow consideration of the amendment.
. On October 7th, 2004, during a meeting of House and Senate conferees, Representatives Obey and Sabo, and Senator Byrd offered an amendment to increase funding to enhance port security by $150 million. Republicans defeated this amendment along party lines.
. The final House/Senate conference on the 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations included only $150 million for port security grants
2006 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
. On September 29th, 2005, during a meeting of House and Senate conferees, Representatives Obey and Sabo, and Senator Byrd offered an amendment to increase funding for port and container security by $300 million. The House conferees defeated this amendment along party lines.
. The enacted Homeland Security Appropriations included $173 million for port security grants. © American Chronicle.
Kuala Lumpur - Piracy and potential terrorist threats in the Straits of Melaka and the waters of Sabah were prime issues raised when the chief of the United States Pacific Command, Admiral William J. Fallon, met Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, here Monday. "I have a great understanding on Malaysia's maritime security progress, and the piracy activities had declined dramatically," Fallon told reporters after the meeting, which was also attended by Defence Forces Chief Laksamana Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohamed Noor. He said the discussions also looked into possible ways of terrorists using the Straits of Melaka due to the high volume of vessel traffic. "We also know that Sabah, Sulawesi and islands in the Philippines are areas being used by terror networks because there are so many islands," he said. Meanwhile, Anwar said that Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore would meet in Batam, Indonesia, in April to sign the agreement on Standard Operating Procedures on collaboration among them in the "Eye-in-the-Sky" operation. He said Malaysia would propose to the International Maritime Organisation to enforce a mandatory rule for any vessels that enter the Straits of Melaka to register with the Vessels Tracking System. "For now, it's not mandatory for vessels to register with the system," he said. He said the system was similar to the Aircraft Tracking System, which identifies any aircraft entering the Malaysian airspace, including to provide data of the aircraft destination, types, speed and other details. © BERNAMA.
Washington - The controversial purchase of a port services company by a government-owned firm from the United Arab Emirates has highlighted the vulnerability of U.S. ports to terrorist attack or infiltration. Unlike airports, which are structures with well-defined perimeters controlled by a single entity and single national standard, America's ports are sprawling, usually right in the heart of major population centers, accessible by rail, highway and water. The United States' 361 ports and harbors are governed and policed by a complicated mix of local, state and national authorities, and much of the responsibility for daily security is under the control of commercial users and leasers in ports. The United States Coast Guard estimates it will cost some $5.6 billion to secure American ports -- but most of that cost is on the shoulders of the businesses who use the ports -- and many, if not most, are not American-owned companies. It is that fact that has put the purchase by Dubai Port World Inc. of Britain's P&O Ports, set to be finalized March 2, under such scrutiny. P&O's North American subsidiary runs public terminals, where cargo is loaded and unloaded, at six major U.S. ports, and renders port services like stevedoring at a total of 21 ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. DP World is owned by the leader of the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally in the Middle East with a murky relationship with international terrorism. During Bush administration deliberations on whether to allow the merger in December the Coast Guard said there were "many intelligence gaps concerning the potential for DPW or P&O assets to support terrorist operations that precludes an overall threat assessment of the potential merger." The merger was approved anyway, based on assurances and intelligence analyses that said the sale did not pose any special threats. Port authorities, industry experts and government officials say the security challenge at ports is far broader than any single company. While the possibility that a terrorist or a sympathizer could compromise a port is real, that danger is inherent in the nature of ports and the slow progress being made in securing them. Seaports are a fat target in two ways, a former Coast Guard official still involved in the shipping industry told UPI. Seaports are often located near big cites and critical infrastructure like oil refineries or chemical plants. A terrorist attack on a port could have major secondary effects and mass casualties, and could shut down a large part of the U.S. economy -- some 95 percent of foreign produced American consumer goods pass through seaports, and 100 percent of foreign oil does. But the primary threat is not believed to be a direct physical attack on seaports. It is in trans-shipment. "The greatest threat we face to global maritime security is the potential for terrorists to use the international maritime system to smuggle terrorist weapons -- or even terrorists -- into targeted countries," said Rear Adm. Craig Bone, U.S. Coast Guard director of inspection and compliance at a House hearing in January. In March 2004, Israel -- one of the most security conscious nations in the world -- experienced exactly that: Two Palestinian suicide bombers hid behind a false wall in a container trucked from Gaza to the Israeli Port of Ashdod 15 miles from Tel Aviv. The container was inspected electronically and visually at the port entrance but the terrorists were not detected. The container was driven to the port, where the terrorists emerged and detonated explosive vests, killing 10 port workers. Airport manifests and cargo are closely screened for names and dangerous articles. But the sheer volume of people and cargo moving in and out of seaports means most do not get scrutinized. Of the 25,000 shipping containers arriving daily at American ports, just 5 percent are physically searched. The Homeland Security Department insists they are the right 5 percent. They are selected through risk assessments conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in a multi-layered program put into place since the 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act. Among the new layers of security is a requirement that vessel operators carrying containerized cargo file an electronic manifest 24 hours before they load their ships bound for the United States in a foreign port. That system is not fool-proof -- the information often changes in transit, and unscreened documents are often presented to U.S Customs when ships arrive in port. In some cases, under the Customs and Border Patrol's Container Security Initiative, cargo is searched in foreign ports prior to loading. Customs has agreements in just over 40 ports worldwide of the United States' 140 trading partners. Vessels are also required to provide the Coast Guard port captain with a notice of arrival 96 hours before entering port. Federal agencies also have non-intrusive inspection equipment to inspect containers for radioactive or nuclear material in U.S. ports. More than 140 radiation portal monitor systems in the ports of New York/New Jersey and the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and abroad through the Department of Energy's overseas initiative. As of January there were 59 imaging systems that can peer into containers like an X-ray, but they are slow; they can check only 20 containers an hour, according to Edward Bilkey, the chief operating officer of DP World, who testified to the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday. There are also 143 radiation portal monitors -- through which containers move like in a car wash -- and 3,500 handheld radiation detectors. These are distributed between the 361 American seaports, according to the Coast Guard but concentrated in large ports. More than half the cargo coming into the United States passes through a handful of ports, primarily New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Baltimore and Miami. U.S. Customs also has a program to encourage maritime industries in implementing security practices to protect cargo from terrorism throughout the chain of custody. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc.
Kuala Lumpur - The United States on Monday pledged to help combat the threat of piracy and terrorism in the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Details of the cooperation will be planned after Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore sign a pact in April outlining standard operating procedures for maritime security, said Adm. William Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, which includes U.S. forces in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. "We are standing by to help. We are hopeful that when this agreement is formalized then we will have a better understanding of what we might do," Fallon, who is based in Hawaii, told a news conference. Fallon, who is visiting the region, did not give details of the assistance that the U.S. wants to give to protect the waterway that is used annually by about 50,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce. But regional officials have said that help would be sought from the United States, China, Japan and other powers to contribute equipment and expertise aimed at strengthening air patrols launched in September by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, the three countries that border the sea route. They also conduct coordinated sea patrols. The help is likely to be limited to capacity building and technical cooperation, without any foreign military presence in the strait. Malaysia and Indonesia have ruled out any direct foreign intervention, saying other countries must respect their territorial sovereignty. Fallon, who came here from Indonesia, said progress is being made in maritime security in the region, noting that Jakarta is building radar sites along its coast. The number of pirate attacks declined dramatically in the Malacca Strait last year to 12 from 38 in 2004, but Fallon noted that the threat of terrorist attack on ships remains. He added that the U.S. was also concerned about security in the waters between Malaysian states on Borneo island and the southern Philippines, especially because of the Islamic separatist conflicts there. The U.S. believes the violence is partly sponsored by terrorist networks. © The Jakarta Post.
COAST Guard officials say a US senator got it all wrong in using a USCG report to imply security shortcomings with Dubai Ports World. Maine Republican Susan Collins, chairman of the Homeland Security committee, released a document yesterday saying: "There are many intelligence gaps, concerning the potential for DPW or P&O assets to support terrorist operations, that precludes an overall threat assessment of the potential merger ... the breadth of the intelligence gaps also infer potential unknown threats against a large number of potential vulnerabilities." But Cmdr Jeff Carter, a spokesman for USCG headquarters, clarified to Fairplay: "What is being quoted is an excerpt of a broader Coast Guard intelligence analysis that was performed early on as part of its due diligence process. The excerpts made public earlier today, when taken out of context, do not reflect the full, classified analysis performed by the Coast Guard. That analysis concludes that DP World's acquisition of P&O, in and of itself, does not pose a significant threat to US assets in (continental US) ports. Upon subsequent and further review, the Coast Guard and the entire CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) panel believed that this transaction, when taking into account strong security assurances by DP World, does not compromise US security." Despite delays in DPW’s takeover, several senators, including Collins and New York’s Charles Schumer, plan to introduce a bill that would give Congress final say on approval of the sale. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2006.
Bangkok - An international campaign to conserve sea turtles in the Indian Ocean – South-East Asia region was launched today in Bangkok, and a parallel campaign was launched in countries across the Pacific region with a ceremony in Apia, Samoa. Sea turtles have inhabited the world’s oceans for over 100 million years, migrating thousands of kilometers between feeding and nesting grounds. Today, six of the seven species of marine turtle - hawksbill, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and green - are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In a statement read during the Bangkok launch, Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan emphasized the need for cooperation between countries to ensure the survival of these endangered migratory animals. “Sea turtles are modern ambassadors of our oceans, linking countries and communities around the world," the Princess said. "They are many things to many people: a traditional source of food, the basis of livelihoods centerd on sustainable tourism, a focus of investigative research, or simply an enduring source of inspiration and awe. We all have a common interest in their conservation." The regional Year of the Turtle campaign is being coordinated by the Secretariat of the Indian Ocean – South-East Asia (IOSEA) Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding which is linked to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The launch is conducted in collaboration with Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. IOSEA Coordinator Douglas Hykle said, “Many nations are already working hard to conserve these remarkable animals, by protecting important habitats and requiring changes to fishing practices that are harmful to turtles. The Year of the Turtle celebration will recognize the important role of sea turtles in the marine environment, as well as their significant cultural value for people in many countries." During this Year of the Turtle, a series of public events and activities in 24 countries of the Indian Ocean – South-East Asia under the banner “Cooperating to Conserve Marine Turtles: Our Ocean’s Ambassadors.” Delegates from the 24 member states that signed the IOSEA Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding will gather in Muscat, Oman March 11-14 to discuss a draft leatherback tsunami assessment report on the effects of the Indian Ocean tsunami December 24, 2004, and to review progress in implementing a comprehensive regionwide Conservation and Management Plan. A key part of the Year of the Turtle campaign will be to unite distant communities in a common cause. In Australia, primary school children are developing a new turtle education guidebook. Beach and reef cleanups are being organized in Thailand, and a two-day underwater festival for divers is taking place at Turtle Island. In Iran, researchers are tagging hawksbill turtles that nest on Shidvar Island to help track their movements. Underwater film festivals are planned in the Seychelles to raise public awareness of the marine environment, and in Tanzania, special beach patrols and education for local communities are being organized. A Turtle Witness Camp is monitoring mass nesting of Olive ridley turtles in Orissa, India that began about 10 days ago. Each winter, hundreds of thousands of Olive ridleys move in synchronized concentrations to three major nesting sites on the Bay of Bengal, considered one of the world's major nesting grounds. After the young ones are hatched, the turtles return to the sea. Orissa's Chief Wildlife Warden Suresh Mohanty, says he expects around one million turtles to nest in the area this year. In the year 2000, only 700,000 turtles arrived, but in 1997 and 1998 few turtles showed up - there was no mass nesting at all, said Mohanty. The Orissa state government has declared the whole nesting area a marine sanctuary and has banned mechanized trawlers in the state. Accidental killing of sea turtles in fishing gear, damage to turtle nesting beaches and coral reefs, and unsustainable consumption are among the threats sea turtles face. In Malaysia, annual counts of leatherback turtle nests have dropped from 5,000 in the 1960s to less than 10 in recent years. Elsewhere, illegal turtle harvests continue to occur. Last week in Indonesia, police apprehended a fishing boat off of Bali carrying 158 green turtles, most of which were released back into the wild. “Human activities over the past 200 years have massively tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners,” says Elisabeth McLellan, WWF Asia Pacific Marine Turtle Coordinator. “Slaughtered in the thousands for their eggs, meat, skin, and shells, they suffer from poaching and over-exploitation, as well as from capture in fishing gear and habitat loss," McLellan said. "But there are places where concerted conservation efforts are making a difference to turtle numbers. We hope that this initiative galvanises countries to act together before it’s too late.” To mark the Year of the Turtle, WWF has declared Derawan Island, one of the the biggest green and hawksbill turtle rookeries in South-East Asia, as a Marine Conservation Area. The global conservation group is monitoring and protecting nesting sites in and around Kenya's Kiunga Marine National Reserve, satellite tagging of marine turtles in Vietnam, and introducing circle hooks to tuna fleets in the Philippines to reduce the numbers of turtles accidentally caught in fishing gear. WWF also is establishing a joint research partnership between Madagascar, Switzerland and France to study marine turtles in the southwest Indian Ocean. Natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami, have taken a toll on sea turtle populations. A draft report discussed at the launch reveals that the tsunami had a profound impact on local communities that had been working with turtle conservation projects in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The process of rebuilding these bonds now has begun. India’s remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, home to about 500 nesting leatherback turtles, were hard hit by the tsunami, which occurred during the peak of turtle nesting season. The tsunami destroyed several nesting beaches and inundated many coastal areas. “In the short-term, thousands of unhatched turtle eggs would have been destroyed,” said Dr. Mark Hamann, compiler of the IOSEA leatherback tsunami assessment, “but the impacts of the tsunami need to be viewed over a longer time scale. Leatherback turtles have been breeding in the region for thousands of years, and will have survived similar natural calamities in the past.” Elsewhere, there is evidence to show that conservation efforts are succeeding, with some areas reporting increased sea turtle populations – but there is still much work to do. One effective measure is the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on fishing gear, a condition the United States places on imports of fish from turtle range states such as Pakistan. A two-member team from the United States visited the Karachi fish harbor in February to inspect measures for the conservation of endangered green turtles - a condition the US attaches to seafood imports from Pakistan. A senior official at the Sindh Fisheries Ministry told the "Daily Times," that the U.S. team visited the Karachi fish harbor for the first time in 1999 and again most recently in March 2005. "Now more than 17,000 trawlers and fishing boats are registered with the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority that operate in the Arabian Sea," said the official. "They all have been using TEDs for the past more than five years and the U.S. team visit actually ensures its consistency and sometimes they ask for more measures." Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said, “In 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, governments agreed to reverse the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. Sea turtles are in many ways flagship species. If we can conserve turtles we can do a lot for other marine life forms and thus help the world meet the 2010 target. I wish the organizers and those involved every success.” The Year of the Turtle will run through December 31, 2006, with events planned at country and local levels throughout the Indian Ocean – South-East Asia region. For more information about Year of the Turtle in the Indian Ocean – South-East Asia region visit: www.ioseaturtles.org; for the Pacific Ocean region go to: www.sprep.org © Environment News Service (ENS).
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