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Alert Crewman Foils Tanker Pirates in Malacca Strait by Tim Johnston
Jakarta - An alert crewman on an oil tanker off the Malaysian coast has foiled a hijack attempt by a group of pirates. The crewmember stole the pirates' boat, leaving them stranded on the tanker and forced to surrender to police. Although this hijack was foiled, piracy remains a huge problem in the Malacca Strait, the narrow waters between Malaysia and Indonesia. The 10 armed pirates boarded the tanker before dawn as it was heading past the Malaysian island of Langkawi. But their plans were thrown into confusion by a quick-thinking member of the tanker's crew, who climbed into the boat used by the pirates and sped off to alert police. After a three-hour standoff, the pirates, with no means of escape, were forced to surrender to Malaysian law enforcement officers. All 19 members of the tanker's crew were released, although preliminary reports say the captain of the ship sustained a light head injury. It was a fortunate ending, but many other ships and crews in the narrow waters that separate Malaysia and Indonesia have not been so lucky. The Piracy Reporting Center, a Kuala Lumpur-based arm of the International Maritime Bureau says there were 37 attacks on shipping in the Strait last year, with 30 people killed and another 30 still missing. "The Malacca Straits tend to be a favorite ground for pirates," said IMB deputy director Jayant Abhynkar. "They do board ships. At times, hijack them and then either hold the crew for ransom or just take the ship away with the cargo and discard the cargo somewhere. At the very least, it is straightforward robbery and they come on board, steal cash and then escape." Some 50,000 ships a year pass through the Malacca Strait, making it one of the world's busiest waterways. Tankers steam east carrying oil from the Gulf to the resource-poor countries of Asia and cargo ships travel west carrying manufactured goods to markets in Africa and Europe. Some analysts say that the countries surrounding the Strait - Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore - urged on by the United States, have tried to suppress the activities of the pirates, but consensus on a joint security operation has been hard to achieve because of politically sensitive questions over sovereignty. Security has been increased, but as Tuesday's incident shows, the Malacca Strait is still a dangerous place for shipping. © Voice of America.
Ambalat revised: The way forward? by Clive Schofield and I Made Andi Arsana
The initial furor over ownership of the Ambalat offshore area has died down as formal negotiations on the delimitation of a maritime boundary have started and rival navies have been reigned in. What now? The idea of negotiating a maritime boundary agreement may make unwelcome reading to many Indonesians convinced of the validity of Indonesia's claims, as this means that Indonesia is unlikely to secure the entirety of the disputed "Ambalat offshore area". This is because it is rare indeed that a negotiation results in one participant gaining everything and the other nothing. Having said that, negotiation is certainly a hugely attractive and likely route to dispute resolution compared to third-party settlement options. Bilateral negotiations have the distinct attraction for the Governments concerned of their retaining control over the destiny of the dispute, quite apart from the time and cost considerations involved in taking a case to the ICJ at The Hague. In this context it is perhaps worthwhile recalling that the dispute sparked by oil exploration issues. Energy security concerns, as well as nationalist concerns over sovereignty and sovereign rights, therefore remain at the root of the dispute. Experience from elsewhere around the world, no oil company will invest a huge amount of money in the area where jurisdiction over a particular seabed area is in doubt. No exploration and exploitation will be done without political, legal and fiscal certainties. This can, in turn have significant impacts on the national economy for the States concerned. In this regard it is certainly encouraging that negotiations have begun in earnest with the first round of which took place in Bali on March 22-23, 2005. However, the talks were conducted in confidence and this has raised concerns among some Indonesian people, that their Government is somehow deliberately keeping them in the dark amid fears of a sell-out. Are people right to be concerned at this apparent lack of transparency? The answer here must be clearly in the negative as the vast majority of such maritime boundary delimitation negotiations are conducted in confidence. A key reason for this is to allow those involved maximum flexibility to propose creative solutions, free form intrusive media scrutiny. Indeed, most boundary negotiations will specifically state that any proposals entertained in negotiations are without prejudice to either Government's position and, in sum; nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Within the maritime negotiations context, however, it is true that the potential presence of oil and gas can act as a relevant factor in negotiating maritime boundaries. Apparently, neither side is likely to secure the entire area under dispute. It is generally hard to determine with accuracy the position, quantity and quality of hydrocarbon reserves without extensive exploration activity. A compromise line is, therefore, risky that the seabed resources at stake may end up on the "wrong" side of the boundary line. In the Ambalat context, all of these factors apply. If a negotiated delimitation line, mutually acceptable to both parties is concluded, all well and good. Given the divergent positions of the parties, however, such a resolution may prove difficult to achieve, at least in the short term. There is, however, an alternative solution. Indonesia and Malaysia could instead opt for a joint development zone covering all or part of the overlapping claims. Both States have experience of this type of resolution: Indonesia, in partnership with Australia, was the author of the hugely complex and ground-breaking joint zone governing the Timor Gap area (now partially taken over by Timor Leste post-independence); and Malaysia through two joint development area agreements with Thailand and Vietnam respectively. All of these have proved successful. Fundamentally, the joint zone option would allow the desired resource exploration and development without undue delay and without the need for a potentially costly and time consuming delimitation exercise. Such arrangements therefore offer a potential alternative avenue to resource development and sharing where the opposing positions of the parties involved become entrenched. These have the advantage of flexibility in terms of area, duration and resource or function applied to. The cooperative nature of such agreements can also have spin-off benefits, acting as a confidence-building measure. In the Indonesia-Malaysia case, a joint zone has the potential to help to rebuild relations apparently soured both by the dispute over Ambalat and issues such as Malaysia's recent forceful crack-down against illegal workers in Malaysia, many of whom are Indonesian. Finally, joint zones are in line with international law with the Law of the Sea Convention stating in Articles 74 and 83 relating to the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf that: "Pending agreement...the States concerned, in a spirit of understanding and cooperation, shall make every effort to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature and, during this transitional period, not to jeopardize or hamper the reaching of a final agreement. Such agreements shall be without prejudice to the final delimitation." This is not to argue that joint development is applicable in all circumstances, merely because a dispute and overlapping claims to maritime jurisdiction exist. For joint development to function successfully, considerable political will is required. The relationship between its signatories needs to be strong enough to survive multiple changes in government over the years. Nonetheless, for all the potential pitfalls, emerging State practice appears to favor joint development and such practical problem-solving approaches have the potential to be functional, flexible and equitable. All in all, therefore, the joint development option could represent a win-win scenario for both Indonesia and Malaysia and is worthy of serious consideration. [Clive Schofield is a senior lecturer in the Center for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong, Australia. I Made Andi Arsana is a lecturer in the Department of Geodetic Engineering, UGM, currently research student in the University of New South Wales, Australia] © The Jakarta Post.
Ambitious MISC targets tanker markets
Malaysia: MALAYSIA International Ship-ping Corporation is eyeing an entry into the product clean tanker business and longer haul aframax crude trades as it builds up its presence in Europe. MISC president and chief executive Dato’ Shamsul Azhar Abbas told Lloyd’s List that the Malaysian shipping giant was studying a move into operating MR type clean product tankers. However, it would look to charter rather than buy because of present high ship prices. “We are obviously looking at getting into the clean product tankers,” he went on. “We notice that currently the US is short of refining capacity. But at the same the demand for product is increasing so you have to import, and it is going to be big, so we would like to seize that opportunity.” The company is undertaking a study about moving into this market as at present it only operates small coastal product tankers within Malaysia. The study is expected to be completed in about two months time, with the company making a move by the end of the year. “That is to cover Europe and the US,” Dato’ Shamsul added. The number of vessels the company would require had yet to be decided. One problem is the high prices of new and secondhand tonnage. Dato’ Shamsul said that the company was not planning to expand its owned fleet beyond the present orders due to the high cost of new vessels. It would wait for a market down cycle before buying or ordering more ships. Solving this problem of entering the clean product tanker market could be long-term charters with options to buy. He noted that, for its chemical tanker business: “We have chartered in three ships over a period of 10 years, so that is one way of overcoming the problems of price.” MISC is also looking to expand the scope of its aframax business, a segment where it is the second largest owner in the world. Through American Eagle Tankers, which the company acquired in 2003 from Neptune Orient Lines, MISC already has a niche in the transhipment business from very large crude carriers in the US Gulf. “The next step is really to look at a possible port-to-port kind of delivery,” Dato’ Shamsul said. The idea is to trade aframaxes from the Arabian Gulf via the Suez Canal to Europe and the US. As a part of building up its European ambitions MISC recently merged the tanker businesses of MISC and AET, shifting the commercial headquarters to London. Dato’ Shamsul said there were synergies to be gained from merging the fleets and added: “It makes perfect sense to operate them as one company.” The choice of London balanced the time differences between east and west and it “is a major shipping city”. A study into integrating the technical management of the tanker fleet in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is also under way. Whatever the outcome of this study the technical management function is likely to remain in Asia due to issues of cost, Dato’ Shamsul said. While MISC may not be expanding its fleet at present it has been using its cash, such as the US$440m profit it made from the sale of its bulk carrier fleet to Restis late last year, to pay down its debts. AET, which came with $580m in debt when MISC acquired it is now entirely debt-free, and Dato’ Shamsul said that MISC’s debt equity ratio was now 0.54 times, which was relatively low by shipping industry standards. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Annual security forum in Singapore ends by Christopher Torchia
Singapore - Malaysia talked about piracy, the Philippines explained its guerrilla problem, Japan and South Korea fretted over North Korean nuclear weapons, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wondered why China is spending so much on its military. On Sunday, defense chiefs from the Asia-Pacific region ended a three-day, annual forum at which they debated terrorism, maritime security, defense industries, peacekeeping and weapons of mass destruction. The ministers also held one-on-one meetings to reinforce alliances and coordinate policy. China sent a low-level delegation, but attracted plenty of attention as an Asian heavyweight with a voracious economy. China is arguing with Japan over Tokyo's wartime record, disagrees with the United States and Europe over textile exports and is asserting claims on Taiwan that make the region a potential flashpoint of conflict. In a speech Saturday, Rumsfeld challenged China's military buildup and urged political change. "Economic success depends on increasingly freer economic systems. That will put pressure on a political system that is less free," Rumsfeld said. "The task for China is to resolve that issue." Japan's defense minister, Yoshinori Ono, also singled out China, saying it should be more transparent about military spending. The Australian defense minister, Robert Hill, said China should do more to push North Korea into talks on its nuclear know-how. China's low-key presence meant that it could not deliver a high-profile defense of its policies. Though its chief delegate, Foreign Ministry official Cui Tiankai, questioned Rumsfeld from the audience, asking whether he believed that the United States felt threatened by China. Rumsfeld said no. As is often the case at such forums, delegates repeated their commitment to a peaceful solution to the standoff over North Korea's efforts to make nuclear weapons. The North says it has them, though it is so secretive that analysts can only speculate on the extent of the program. On Sunday, a senior U.S. defense official traveling with Rumsfeld said the United States plans to decide its next move on North Korea in the next several weeks, which could include referring the matter of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program to the United Nations. North Korea has not responded to offers made during the last round of six-nation talks nearly a year ago, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Delegates also discussed the threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia's Malacca Strait, which serves as a passageway for 30 percent of the world's trade and 50 percent of the world's oil. Malaysia's defense minister, Najib Tun Razak, said his country has yet to find any "credible link" between terrorists and pirates who roam the strait in search of plunder. Razak said he opposes suggestions that foreign vessels be escorted by their naval or coast guard ships through the strait. He said the littoral states - Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia - can handle patrols in the 550-mile waterway. Some intelligence experts fear terrorists - in collaboration with pirates - could seize a ship in the sea lane, sail it into a harbor and stage a massive detonation. On a positive note, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz of the Philippines said he hoped for peace with the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front by the end of the year. There are allegations that some rebels have ties to al-Qaida-linked groups accused of deadly bombings in Southeast Asia. © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company.
Bergesen + MISC unite
MALAYSIA - Bergesen Worldwide and Malaysia International Shipping Corp have signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a partnership in ownership, operation and maintenance of LPG floating production, storage and offloading units in Malaysia, and of LPG floating production units in other areas. Under the agreement, all repair work on such facilities will be undertaken by Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering, a MISC unit, formerly known as Malaysia Shipyard & Engineering. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Defense chiefs to confront Asia-Pacific security issues
Singapore Asia-Pacific defense ministers and their allies from the major powers are to begin a three-day meeting here Friday to discuss security issues such as terrorism and the North Korean nuclear standoff, organizers said. Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is to deliver the keynote address on Friday evening to open the annual meeting, called the "Shangri-la Dialogue" after the hotel where it is held. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organizes the event, has said that nearly 20 defense chiefs, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld of the United States, are expected to attend the gathering. A senior U.S. defense official said in Washington that the North Korean nuclear standoff and China's military buildup would top Rumsfeld's agenda. "Unavoidably the Korean issue will be right in front of us," said the official, who briefed reporters about the trip on condition of anonymity. Washington is trying to restart six-way talks aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programs. Rumsfeld's schedule includes one-on-one meetings with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea. There will also be official delegations from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, East Timor, Britain and Vietnam. A copy of the program on the institute's Web site said that India's defense minister, Pranab Mukherjee, is to speak on Saturday on his country's emerging role in regional security. Rumsfeld is listed as addressing a session on "The U.S. and Asia-Pacific Security Beyond the War on Terrorism." Japan's defense minister, Yoshinori Ono, and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Kwang Ung, are also scheduled to lead discussions on responding to the challenges of weapons of mass destruction in the region through diplomacy and deterrence. On Sunday, the Australian defense minister, Robert Hill; the Philippine defense secretary, Avelino Cruz; and their Singapore counterpart, Teo Chee Hean, will lead a forum on the region's armed forces and counterterrorism. Malaysia's deputy prime minister and defense minister, Najib Razak, and Admiral William Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, will head discussions on maritime security cooperation. Maritime security is a concern in the area because about a quarter of the globe's commerce and half of the world's oil supplies pass through the Malacca and Singapore Straits. © 2005 The International Herald Tribune.
Fighting terror the Malaysian way, not the US way by Simon Tisdall
Kuala Lumpur - Red-carpet treatment at the White House for Indonesia's president and visits by the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, to Singapore and Thailand this week, are partly intended to shore up support in south-east Asia for Washington's "war on terror". Cooperation is the region's official watchword when it comes to threats posed by al-Qaida linked groups such as Jemaah Islamiya, responsible for the Bali bombing in 2002, and Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines. But deep unease about the impact of US methods and Washington's wider leadership role is the offstage reality. Nowhere is this ambivalence more evident than in Malaysia, a majority Muslim country that chairs the Non-Aligned Movement and the Islamic Conference but is also thought of as a pro-western "moderate". Addressing an Asia-Pacific security roundtable here last week, Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said terrorism was only one of many threats with potentially "catastrophic consequences". Divisive alliances were another, hesaid, meaning the risk of the region splitting into pro-China and pro-Japan, pro-America camps. Exceptionalism led to arrogance, Mr Abdullah warned. "Global hegemony from whatever source is undesirable," he said. Asked about America's "war on terror", Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia's deputy prime minister and defence minister, pointed to intelligence-sharing with the US, Malaysia's new regional counter-terrorism centre, and a bilateral military logistical support agreement that was extended last month. But Najib, as he is known, made no effort to disguise differences of approach. Unlike in Singapore, there would be no US bases in Malaysia. "We have similar objectives [to America]. We want to eliminate all forms of terrorism. Where we differ is how to get there," he said. "Malaysia is an independent country. We want others to treat us as equals, to respect us for what we are." Malaysia refused to send troops to Afghanistan or Iraq. And despite global concerns over nuclear materials smuggling, the country is boycotting the US maritime proliferation security initiative. The government has also opposed a US idea for joint naval patrols to prevent piracy and possible terrorist attacks in the Malacca Strait, a vulnerable strategic oil route in Malaysian and Indonesian waters. "Basically, we like to have the right to decide what to do and how to do it within our territory," Najib said. He conceded that domestic Islamic opinion influenced the government's outlook. But he said indigenous insurgents, such as the Malaysian Mujahideen Group (KMM), had been rendered ineffective, and the hardline, opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic party (PAS) was unrepresentative. "The government is constantly concerned its religious credentials may be open to attack by PAS if it is not sufficiently assertive of Malaysia's Islamic identity," a diplomatic source noted. Mohamed Jawhar bin Hassan, the director-general of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies, denied there was any ambiguity. "There is zero tolerance for terrorism of whatever kind," he said. "The threat from Jemaah Islamiya is both external and internal. We also have the KMM. But as far as Malaysia is concerned, as far as we know, virtually all of them are behind bars." But he agreed that Malaysia was keen not to become a target. "We are doing everybody a favour by not having the Americans here. They are a lightning rod. They attract terrorists. We help them quietly." Malaysia believes it has its own way of doing things. It is quietly mediating talks to end a long-running conflict in the southern Philippines, and has helped contain unrest involving ethnic Malay Muslims in southern Thailand. Najib rejected criticism by the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, that security concerns were an excuse for internal repression. "Malaysia is a haven, is heaven, compared to many countries. I don't think we have to apologise for anything," he said. Detention without charge and back-door media curbs would not last forever. "There will be an easing of restrictions as we go along ... but we are not going to loosen up drastically. Stability is crucial," Najib said. © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005.
IMO to review draft amendments of SUA Convention and Protocol by George O'Young
The diplomatic conference of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will consider draft protocols to amend the 1988 Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) Convention and Protocol completed by the organization's Legal Commiteee recently. The revision of the SUA treaties is scheduled to be held at IMO headquarters in London from October 10 to 14. The main purpose of the 1988 SUA Convention is to provide the legal basis for action to be taken against persons committing unlawful acts against ships. These acts include the seizure of ships by force, acts of violence against persons on board ships and the placing of devices on board which are likely to destroy or damage the ship. Under the Convention, Contracting Governments are obliged either to extradite or prosecute alleged offenders. Similar provisions are contained in the SUA Protocol, relating to unlawful acts against fixed platforms located on the continental shelf. The aim of the two draft Protocols, IMO said, is to strengthen the SUA treaties in order to provide an appropriate response to the increasing risks to maritime navigation by international terrorism. Proposed amendments to the treaties in the draft Protocols include a substantial broadening of the range of offences included in Article 3 of the SUA Convention and the introduction of provisions in Article 8 to allow for the boarding of vessels suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. The Conference will consider these amendments as well as a number of other, related, issues including the political offences clause, the transfer of prisoners clause and the entry into force criteria. IMO said that work on the revision of the SUA treaties follows from the adoption, in 2001, of Assembly resolution A.924(22) which called for a review of the then existing measures and procedures to prevent acts of terrorism which threaten the security of pasengers and crews and the safety of ships. The SUA amendments, IMO added, will complement the provisions of SOLAS chapter XI-2 (Special measures to enhance maritime security) and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which entered into force in July 2004, by providing a legal basis for the arrest, detention and extradition of terrorists in the unfortunate event that a terrorist attack against shipping nevertheless occurs. IMO, the International Maritime Organization, is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. © 2001-2005 Taiwan News.
Indonesia hijack believed to have been an inside job
Indonesia: THE foiled hijacking of a Nepline tanker off Malaysia is believed to have been an inside job. A 35-year old officer from the Malaysian vessel is reported to have tipped off Indonesian pirates the vessel’s location by sending text messages from his mobile phone. The tanker, loaded with 6,300 tonnes of diesel worth an estimated $3.15m, was boarded by 10 heavily armed pirates early on Tuesday morning off the island of Langkawi while on a voyage from Singapore to Mynamar. The hijacking was foiled after a crew member leapt overboard, stole the pirates’ speedboat and alerted the Malaysian authorities. Kedah police deputy commander Datuk Mohamed Supian Amat said that one crew member, an Indonesian, had been remanded for 12 days along with the 10 alleged pirates from Aceh province. “We believe this is an inside job. This hijacking was well planned,” he said. Another crew member was also reported to have been been remanded yesterday. The pirates appear to have been part of an organised crime syndicate. Deputy inspector-general of police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan told reporters it was believed the pirates were aiming to sell the ship’s cargo and they were investigating links to an earlier hijacking of a commercial ship in the Malacca Strait. The vessel’s master, Sasongko, required stitches after being beaten several times on his forehead with the butt of a metre-long machete. Nepline chief executive Datuk Dr Nik Zain Omar said the 18 crew members would be rewarded for their bravery. The incident marks a return by pirates to hijacking ships to sell their cargoes rather than take crews kidnap hostage for ransom. Gangs, believed to be linked to organised crime syndicates hijacked a number of vessels for their cargoes in the late 1990s, setting crews adrift in small liferafts. In at least one case, the Japanese cargoship Tenyu, all the crew were believed to have drowned after they were left in the open sea. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Indonesian pirates may get 20 years
Indonesia: TEN Indonesian pirates involved in the bungled hijack of a Malaysian tanker face caning and up to 20 years in jail after pleading guilty to gang robbery. The pirates hijacked the Malaysian-registered, 6,902 dwt Nepline Delima on June 14 off Langkawi. But the hijacking was foiled after one of the tanker’s crew jumped overboard, took the pirates speedboat and alerted the authorities. After a six-hour stand-off during which the pirates threatened to burn and sink the ship, they gave themselves up. The 10 pirates, all Indonesian nationals, pleaded guilty to gang robbery in the Court of Sessions in Alor Star. Sentencing is on July 10. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Japan, Indonesia agree to launch FTA talks by July
Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed Thursday to launch negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement by July. The FTA talks are one of four areas Koizumi and Yudhoyono have identified for immediate bilateral cooperation, along with disaster reduction, investment promotion and maritime security, the two leaders said in a joint statement. The two sides will conclude the talks for a so-called Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement "within a reasonable period of time", covering areas ranging from trade in goods and services to investment, the movement of people and intellectual property rights, they said in a joint announcement. Koizumi and Yudhoyono discussed "the vital importance" of strengthening bilateral economic ties through an FTA, and expressed their hope that it will help enhance Japan's comprehensive economic partnership with Southeast Asia, the announcement says. Japan has concluded FTAs with Singapore and Mexico, has reacheda basic FTA accord with the Philippines and Malaysia, aims to reach such an accord with Thailand by July, and is holding talks also with South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On UN reform, the two leaders agreed that their countries will work together to promote reform "in a comprehensive manner, including Security Council reform based on the models expanding its membership in both permanent and nonpermanent categories," thestatement says. On maritime security, the two leaders recognized the importance of the Malacca Strait as a sea lane and called for enhanced cooperation in navigation safety such as against piracy. As for the tsunami and quake disasters that hit Indonesia last December and March, the two leaders decided to launch a Joint Committee on Disaster Reduction to help Indonesia develop a disaster mitigation and preparedness system. ©2003 Xinhua News Agency.
Joint effort needed to step up security in the Malacca Straits
The Malaysian Defense Minister, Najib Tun Razak, has called upon the international community to be part of a joint effort to protect the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes. Speaking to top defense officials at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, he noted that the incidence of piracy attacks has been reduced by 25% since last July with coordinated patrols by Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. However, Mr.
Najib stressed that international cooperation must not impinge on “territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the littoral states”. How can the international community contribute to maritime security in the Straits? Justin Teo spoke to Catherine Raymond, Research Fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, on this issue.
CR: Basically, what the international community can do is to contribute resources, equipment and training to the regional states to help them implement the security measures. Japan is currently doing something like this. For example, it is helping to train staff at Indonesia’s ports to help them implement the ISPS code. It has also contributing in many other ways in terms of training and resource. So the international community should look to Japan for ways in which they can contribute. I think Japan has set the precedence in a way which the international community can follow.
JT: Malaysia has dismissed the idea of having foreign naval vessels escorting their own ships in the Straits. Has national sovereignty played a stumbling block in securing the Malacca Straits?
CR: It definitely has. Last year we saw the implementation of the trilateral coordinated patrols between the navies of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Although this measure was a step in the right direction, the problem was that the navies in the patrols were kept separate from each other; in another words, they only patrolled within their own territorial waters. So if for example the Singapore navy was pursuing a pirate ship and the pirate ship crossed over into Malaysian or Indonesian territorial waters, the Singapore navy would have to hand over the pursuit to one of the other navies because of issues of sovereignty. Each country does not want another country’s navy entering their waters. So if a hand over does have to occur in the pursuit of a pirate ship, it is likely that the pirate ship will get away. So what we need to see more in the region is deeper cooperation whereby the countries agree on hot pursuit into each other’s territorial waters. I think discussions are currently going on between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines about allowing pursuit into each other’s waters. But this is something that has to be worked out and sovereignty is the stumbling block to counter measures against piracy in the region.
JT: Malaysia has yet to find any credible link between terrorists and pirates who roam the Malacca Straits. But could the Straits be the new hot bed of terrorism activity in the region?
CR: Definitely a worry and not something that should be ruled out. Currently we haven’t seen any evidence of collaboration between pirates and terrorists. What we are seeing are terrorists groups carrying out attacks to generate funds for their terrorist activities. So for example, the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines has done kidnaps for ransom attacks on vessels in Philippine waters, whereby they take a member of the crew hostage and demand a ransom for their release. So these funds which they generate could go to towards their terrorist activities. And also GAM or the Free Aceh Movement which is based in Indonesia has been accused of carrying out a lot of the recent pirate attacks on shipping in the Malacca Straits. They’ve actually denied any involvement in it and there is no evidence to prove that they are involved. This is the only link that we can see between piracy and terrorism in the region at the moment.
JT: Information on the pirates’ whereabouts could be gathered by the respective navies. Instead of protecting ships plying the Straits, could a more pro-active approach of hunting down the pirates be used?
CR: This is obviously one of the measures that would need to be implemented. But again, the issue of sovereignty comes into play. So any measures that are going to be carried out against piracy will have to be initiated by the individual states concerned. It’s very hard, for example, for Singapore, to demand investigations to be carried in Indonesia or where ever they suspect pirates to be based. So it will have to be yet again, regional or multilateral agreement in order to implement this kind of initiative. © Radio Singapore International.
Malacca pirates foiled as tanker sailor takes their boat
A pirate attack on a Malaysian tanker in the Straits of Malacca was foiled Tuesday when a quick-thinking crewman from the vessel jumped into the robbers' boat and sped off in it to alert police. The tanker, which was bound for Burma from Malaysia's Port Klang, was boarded before dawn by 10 pirates armed with automatic rifles off Langkawi in the straits. All the pirates clambered on to the tanker and left their boat beside it, an officer with the Langkawi marine police base said. One of the tanker's crew spotted the unattended boat and made off in it to sound the alarm at the marine police base, leaving the pirates stranded on the tanker. A standoff ended six hours after the police chased down the ship and surrounded it. ``The pirates surrendered after negotiations,'' said marine police commander Abdul Rahman Embong. According to Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy watch center in Kuala Lumpur, the pirates - believed to be Indonesians - had initially threatened to blow the tanker up. After agreeing to surrender, they threw their weapons overboard. All 19 crew members on board the tanker were safe, although the captain was believed to have sustained a slight head injury. Authorities were investigating whether the pirates are linked to the gang that abducted two Japanese and a Filipino from a Japanese-registered tug boat near the same location in March. The abductees were later released unharmed. More than 50,000 vessels each year ply the Straits of Malacca, a pirate-infested waterway that is the key seaway between East Asia and Europe and the Middle East, carrying half the world's oil and a third of global commerce. Tuesday's attack was the seventh this year in the straits. © 2005, The Standard Newspaper Ltd.
Malacca Strait patrols deemed a flop after double kidnapping
Singapore: CO-ORDINATED naval patrols in the Malacca Strait have been branded ineffective following the kidnapping of two crew from a Thai tanker last week. Heavily armed pirates seized the master and an officer from a 1,104 gt product tanker in the Malacca Strait on Wednesday evening. The tanker, carrying a cargo of fuel oil, was off Pangkor Island at 2000 hrs when it came under fire from pirates in a speedboat forcing it to stop. As many as eight pirates then boarded the tanker, taking two of the 16 crew hostage and making off with the ship’s documents. “The pirates demanded a ransom before the ship arrived at its next port of call,” said Noel Choong, regional manager of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. The ship’s owners are in ransom negotiations with the pirates, who are reported to be Indonesian. The incident is a clear sign that last year’s landmark coordinated patrols between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have failed to deal with the problem of piracy in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. “These co-ordinated patrols do not seem to be effective,” said S S Teo, president of the Singapore Shipping Association, adding that their impact in combating oiracy had been minimal. “Small tankers, slow moving tugs and barges and even large bulkers continue to be attacked,” he said. Agreeing with this assessment, Mr Choong added: “The co-ordinated patrols since July last year did not work.” The SSA has joined other Asian shipowners’ groups in calling for the states in the region to accept help from other countries in areas such as information sharing and intelligence gathering. While alleging that co-ordinated patrols were not effective, Mr Teo would not say if the association would call for joint patrols with the right of pursuit into another country’s waters, merely saying: “Some measures have to be taken. We have to do something before this turns into a big disaster.” © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Malacca threat 'real and urgent'
SINGAPORE has once again called for outside assistance in securing the Strait of Malacca, this time during the Shangri La Asian Security Conference. Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said that although the littoral states – Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore – have the primary responsibility for security, “they need to harness the significant resources of the major user countries”. Appearing to link piracy with terrorists, Loong said that terrorists have been studying maritime targets in the region, and added that the threat is "real and urgent”. However, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Najib Tun Razak, reiterated his country’s opposition to third party patrols, although he stressed the need for effective co-ordination. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd.
Malaysia says foreign planes may help hunt pirates by Mark Bendeich and Chaitanya Kalbag
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia proposed on Tuesday that foreign surveillance planes help to fight piracy in the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, in its clearest invitation for international assistance. Malaysia, along with neighbour Indonesia, has been cool to hints of an international role in policing the waterway but would allow maritime aircraft from nations such as the United States, Japan and Australia to use its domestic airspace. "It's to be managed as an international effort by the international community," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told Reuters in an interview. "Perhaps the international community can provide maritime aircraft for 24-hour surveillance over the Straits of Malacca. They can fly these aircraft but the consoles and monitors (inside them) can be operated by Malaysians, Indonesians and Singaporeans." Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore guard the strait, which carries a quarter of global trade and nearly all oil imports for Japan and China. There are fears the waterway, already plagued by pirate attacks, could become a target for a terror attack. The United States and Japan have offered help, but Malaysia and Indonesia in particular have resisted suggestions that foreign forces could operate within their territories. Sovereignty is the paramount concern for the littoral states. It was widely reported last year that U.S. special forces or the Marines could be used as part of efforts to enhance security in the strait, provoking opposition from Malaysia and Indonesia. Najib's comments are a departure from previous rhetoric. With piracy attacks rising after a lull following the Dec. 26 tsunami, there is growing pressure on the littoral states to do more. He added that there could be a central communications post that would receive information from the foreign surveillance aircraft and relay it to naval and maritime police boats being used by the littoral states to patrol their respective waters. The right of hot pursuit -- where one littoral state's patrol boat could cross maritime boundaries while chasing pirates - is still not on the agenda, Najib said. "The responsibility of the security of the Straits of Malacca primarily rests on the littoral states," he said. "The actual interdiction...will be done by Malaysian, Singaporean or Indonesian navy or maritime police patrol boats. "Whatever we do must not jeopardise the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added. © Reuters Limited.
Malaysia seeks to boost straits security
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia needs more maritime surveillance aircraft to boost security in the Straits of Malacca. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Government was looking at the international community to provide the aircraft but the security forces of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore should do the surveillance. “We are looking at engaging help from the international community in terms of capacity building, particularly in having ‘eyes in the sky’,” he told reporters after launching the Bumiputra Businessmen and Industrialists Association of Malaysia here yesterday. Najib, who is also the Defence Minister, was asked about a statement by visiting US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Richard B. Myers on Monday that multilateral efforts were needed to combat potential terrorist threats in the key waterway. Gen Myers also said the United States had no plans to conduct joint naval patrols in the 900km strait with the littoral states. Over 50,000 vessels, a third of global trading ships and half of the world’s oil tankers, pass through the strait each year. Najib said the United States responded positively to his call for more surveillance aircraft and capacity building projects. The international community, including the United States, he added, could help the region strengthen its defence capabilities without encroaching on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the littoral states. “He (Gen Myers) expressed satisfaction over our efforts to safeguard the security, and co-operation with the international community in combating terrorism.” On the planned coast guard, Najib said the enforcement agency would begin operations by the end of the year. It would be a modest start using the existing facilities of various agencies, he added. © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Malaysia wants amicable settlement on Ambalat dispute: Hassan
Jakarta (Antara) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Wednesday that Malaysia wanted to settle the Ambalat oil block dispute in an amicable manner. Speaking at a working meeting with members of Commission I for defense, information, foreign and political affairs of the House of Representatives, Hassan said that technical teams of the two countries held their last meeting from May 25 to May 26. Hassan said that Malaysian delegations disclosed at the meeting that they wanted to settle maritime boundaries between Malaysia and Indonesia amicably. Malaysia's recent claim on the Ambalat block in the Sulawesi Sea off the island of Borneo, sparked widespread demonstrations against the claim throughout Indonesia earlier this year. The divisive dispute had even drawn the two nations on the brink of war after war ships of the two nations "bumped" into another inthe disputed waters. One of the key items on the agenda is to thoroughly discuss the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Hassan said. "Compromises reached during the last meeting are expected to help boost discussions toward a more concrete direction in the next negotiations," he added. © The Jakarta Post.
Malaysian authorities step up search for polluter
Malaysia - Malaysian authorities have vowed to track down the ship responsible for an oil spill off its southern coast which caused serious damage and forced hundreds of fishermen to lay down their nets, the AFP reported Monday. However, fishing groups criticized the slow clean-up and experts warned the spill could cause irreversible environmental damage to marine life. "We are trying to identify the ship that spilled the oil," said Abdul Rahman Awang, director of the environment department in southern Johor state, opposite Singapore. The busy shipping route was hit Thursday by a three mile long oil slick which left Johor beaches covered with tar balls and harbors full of black, oily water. Some 200 fishermen in Pengerang, on Malaysia's southernmost tip, have not been out to sea since Friday because they fear the oil slicks will damage their nets. They also criticized local authorities for not carrying out immediate clean-up operations near the river mouth and on the beach, and said each boat was suffering daily losses of up to RGT1,000 ($263). © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Malaysians stick with South-Par
Malaysia: MALAYSIAN state oil and gas firm Petronas says it is still involved in the South-Par gas project in Iran. “We have not pulled out of South-Par,” Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, chief executive of Petronas, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He said that, since May, Petronas has been re-evaluating the financial criteria of the project and was continuing to do so. “Discussions on the commercial terms with the relevant party are still ongoing,” he said. Petronas had previously been reported to have withdrawn its 20% stake in the $2bn project. The two phases of the gas exploration project in Iran are expected to produce 2bn cu ft of gas and 80,000 barrels of condensate per day from 20 wells. Meanwhile, Petronas is also eyeing the possibility of business in neighbouring Iraq. “I think any oil and gas player cannot ignore Iraq as a new source of investment. We have been active in Iraq,” he said. As yet, though, the Malaysian firm has no permanent presence in the country. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Manila seeks to tighten border with Indonesia
Manila - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pledged on Tuesday to work more closely with Indonesia to police the two countries' porous border, saying her government would make every effort to rescue an Indonesian hostage. "We are doing everything within our means to secure the safe release of the remaining captive," Arroyo said in her opening statement at a meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "We hope that we could take this opportunity to look at other areas, where we can work together to prevent such incidents from happening again." Last week, Philippine security forces rescued two of three Indonesian sailors held captive since March by Muslim militants on the southwestern island of Jolo. Arroyo said the kidnapping incident served as a lesson for the two countries to cooperate on maritime border issues, such as anti-terrorism, anti-piracy and transnational crime. She said the two countries could do more by resolving a long-standing border dispute and by securing a new fisheries agreement. "Our unique maritime context could work for or against us," she said. "It could keep us apart or bring us closer, depending on how we deal with it." Yudhoyono, elected as president last September, did not issue any comment on his meeting with Arroyo. Analysts and security officials say Indonesian militants belonging to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group have taken advantage of the porous southern border to travel virtually unchecked between Indonesia and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. JI is believed to have used Mindanao as a training base and a refuge where it has forged informal alliances with Philippine Muslim rebels. The national police chiefs of the two countries met on Tuesday to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation, particularly in tracking down two Indonesian militants suspected to be behind the October 2002 attacks in Bali that killed 202 people. Philippine military said Umar Patek and Dulmatin had been hiding in Mindanao since 2003, coddled by a radical faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest Muslim rebel group. Arroyo also asked Yudhoyono to support Manila's proposal to adopt a more binding regional code of conduct in the South China Sea among the six nations that claim ownership of the mineral-rich Spratlys. China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines have claimed all or parts of the string of atolls and islets. © Reuters Foundation.
Maritime Enforcement Agency To Start Operations In November, Says PM
KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, set up last year, will commence operations in November after the intake of personnel and sea adjustment training are completed, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Dewan Rakyat, Wednesday. He said the agency would begin operations with 72 ships and boats received in stages from the various existing maritime agencies. The Marine Department would provide 21, Royal Malaysia Navy (19), Royal Malaysia Police (15), Fisheries Department (12) and Royal Malaysia Customs Department (five), he said. The agency would be beefed up with an additional 25 new boats, he said in his written reply to Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan). Abdullah said the government had approved 4,035 positions for the agency, covering the headquarters, regions, districts and bases. "Two air stations will also operate in Subang and Kota Kinabalu," he said. Abdullah said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Act 2004 (Act 633) was published in the government gazette on July 1, 2004 and came into force on Feb 15 this year. Placed under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, it is a maritime enforcement agency set up by the government to ensure peace and security in the country's maritime zones, he said. Its functions, among others, are enforcing maritime laws, ensuring compliance to maritime procedures, assisting in search and rescue operations, conducting checks on sea pollution, providing aerial and sea surveillance, he added. Copyright © 2005 BERNAMA.
MISC integration
MALAYSIA International Shipping Corp’s board of directors has approved the integration of its own tanker business with American Eagle Tanker. MISC said that its board had approved the integration of its petroleum tanker business under a single structure. As reported by Lloyd’s List last week the merged tanker division will come under AET and be run from its London office. Technical management of the tanker fleets is likely to remain in Asia. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
MISC looking to form joint box venture
Malaysia International Shipping Corporation is in talks with other container shipping lines, aiming to increase its box business through a joint venture or pool. Repeating denials that it planned to sell all or part of its container shipping business, MISC president and chief executive Dato’ Shamsul Azhar Abbas told Lloyd’s List it was looking to grow the business through a partnership with another line. “We have taken a deep look at that box business. We decided there are no economies of scale so we need to grow,” Dato’ Shamsul explained. The idea would be that another company would pool its fleet of 20 to 30 ships with MISC’s 20 boxships. He said that the company had already started discussions and there were a number of companies interested in the idea. MISC is, however, not looking to sell down its stake in its container shipping business, favouring an equal partnership with another company. “Coming in with us does not mean we are reducing our stake — that is not growing, that is divesting,” Dato’ Shamsul said. He would not say to which companies MISC was talking but said a strong access to the China market was very important in a potential partner. When talk of MISC selling a stake in its box shipping arm surfaced at the beginning of the year the company was linked to Orient Overseas Container Line of Hong Kong. This rumour was further fuelled by the appointment of former OOCL executive Niels Kim Balling to a senior position in the MISC liner arm last year. While MISC is looking for another company to contribute a similar sized fleet, it could be a larger line willing to hive off part of its fleet to form a new entity run on the lines of joint venture. There are some conditions including one that a partnership should tie in with MISC’s hub at Port Klang, where it owns around a 15% stake in terminal operator Northport. Through a partnership MISC would seek to grow in the longer haul trades such as to Europe and South Africa and it has been rationalising its route network over the last one to two years. Dato’ Shamsul believes it could strengthen its representation in the Grand Alliance, where he said it was under-represented. The partnership route is being explored as organic growth by ordering or buying new ships was ruled out as too expensive. “We have calculated to become a medium sized company in the container shipping business would need around $8bn,” Dato’ Shamsul said. He quashed talk that the com pany was forced to retain its container line because it was an issue of national interest. “The prime minister came out openly to say MISC has to make its own decisions,” he said. “So the government has no say in it. That clears us of the national agenda if there is any. ”MISC has a fleet of 20 container vessels, four of more than 3,000 teu, eight between 1,000 and 2,000 teu and eight under 1,000 teu, with two 7,900 teu capacity vessels on order from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
MISC plans to grow box business
MALAYSIA International Shipping Corp has ended speculation that it will divest its container business and has instead said that it plans to grow the business through partnerships. “We want to grow, but organic growth will be costly. So we are looking at partnerships,” president and CEO Shamsul Azhar Abbas told Kuala Lumpur’s The Star newspaper. Abbas also disclosed that instead of the planned sale of small and older vessels, they would be chartered out to take advantage of high rates. MISC, which operates 20 container ships, will retain the business, but a restructure is underway. “We have rationalised the routes, moved out of domestic business due to over-capacity and we are now concentrating on South Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand,” Abbas said. The integration of the petroleum tanker fleet of 52 under subsidiary American Eagle Tankers (AET) is said to be almost complete. AET, said to operate the largest double-hulled Aframax fleet in the Atlantic, was acquired in 2003 from Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd.
Muhibbah eyes Middle East market to expand divisions by Isabelle Francis
Muhibbah Engineering Bhd is eyeing the Middle East market to expand its shipyard and construction divisions, said its managing director Mac Ngan Boon. Speaking to reporters after its AGM and EGM yesterday he said: “There are huge demands (for offshore vessels) in the Middle East market. We’re in the middle of talks (with parties there) to supply vessels and supply equipment to the maritime side.” He added that Muhibbah would initiate a local representative office in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, soon. Muhibbah's shipyard division, which has secured orders worth RM100 million this year, constructs and supplies vessels as well as commissions the handling of tug supply vessels of 45-60 metres. To date, the division contributes 10%-15% to the company's turnover, with a bulk of it attributable to overseas markets. Mac expects the division to grow significantly on the back of its "good" track record. It has built about 50 vessels so far. “We don’t expect it (shipyard’s performance) to shoot up drastically. We expect it to continue to grow especially now with Petronas recognising the need to help the local ship(ing) industry. “So they (Petronas) are making their suppliers of tugs build their vessels locally. They cannot keep on bringing offshore vessels,” he said. Muhibbah’s most lucrative construction division has an order book worth RM1 billion, contributing 60% to its turnover, of which 20%-30% is attributable to overseas market namely Sudan, Qatar, Cambodia and Singapore. Under this division, its 90% subsidiary, Muhibbah Petrochemical Engineering Sdn Bhd alone had secured RM200 million order books. “In time we hope to do more (for the construction division) in the international arena. We can’t tell you how fast. If the construction industry recovers, we expect 2005 onward to be good. With the 9MP (NInth Malaysia Plan), we hope to replenish our order books for construction,” added Mac. On its financial outlook, Mac said its oil and gas and related divisions, including its cranes and shipyard divisions, were expected to lead growth due to the increase in global demand for oil. “With the pick-up in oil and gas, the (oil and gas) division would lead the growth in the company. Definitely in the next five years a lot of our projects would be very related to oil and gas,” he said. To date its overall oil and gas related businesses make up 40%-50% of its revenue and 60% of its earnings. On Muhibbah’s cranes division, which has secured projects worth RM250-280 million this year, Mac said it hoped to “be there” when construction of the Freedom Tower in New York begins this year. © The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd.
Navy rescues 17 onboard distressed fishing boat
The Philippine Navy ship BRP Quezon (PS70) rescued 17 men and women with children onboard a motor launch fishing boat that drifted into the high seas without contact for more than two days along the RP-Malaysia border last Sunday afternoon. BRP Quezon was conducting maritime surveillance patrol operations 30 nautical miles southeast off Fearless Shoal when they spotted the distressed fishing vessel. The mostly dehydrated passengers — seven men, seven women, and three children — were brought onboard PS70 and immediately received first aid, medical assistance, food, and water from the ship’s medical personnel. One of the passengers said they had left Sandakan, Malaysia for Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi when the boat’s engine conked out. Attempts to repair the engine remained futile. He also said that they tried to flag down other vessels to be rescued, but they were too far away to be seen. The passengers and their vessel were turned over the next day to the Coast Guard detachment in Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi for proper disposition. © Manila Bulletin.
Newfield signs deal for two Malaysia fields
Malaysia - Newfield Exploration is set to develop the East Belumut and Chermingat oil fields offshore Malaysia after signing a production sharing contract for the PM 323 block. The US independent has a 60% stake in the block and has committed $160m of investment to develop the two fields with first oil due in 2008. It has also promised to appraise five other existing discoveries in the block and shoot more 3D seismic surveys to find new reserves. The 335,000 acre block, in which state firm Petronas Carigali will have 40%, is in the Malay Basin, 185 miles off Kemaman, Terengganu. Newfield hopes the East Belumut and Chermingat oil fields will produce around 15,000 barrels of oil per day in 2008 and will also drill five more exploratory wells over the next three years. “Malaysia has developed into a focus area for us, offering production growth over the next few years and an inventory of exploration prospects that could provide additional developments,” said Newfield president and chief executive David Trice. “The Malay Basin is a prolific hydrocarbon province with good fiscal terms, attractive markets and growing infrastructure.” Newfield operates the PM 318 block onshore Peninsular Malaysia where it produces 10,000 bpd and intends to develop the Abu field by early 2007. The Houston-based firm also has a 60% stake in the deepwater block 2c offshore Sarawak, where it plans to drill two wildcat exploration wells next year. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Petronas chief predicts high oil prices will be the norm
Malaysia: THE price of oil is more sustainable than thought and is set to remain at a new higher level, says Petronas chief Tan Sri Hassan Marican. Noting the sharp rise in oil prices over the past two years, Tan Sri Marican told the 10th Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur: “While the unstable geopolitical situation at the time was blamed for the spike in oil prices, it would appear that the present increase is more sustainable than previously thought and has not dented global economic growth. “Perhaps the world has come to accept the new oil price as it coped with the price level after the first oil shock in the 1970s.” Speaking to reporters later, Tan Sri Marican commented that, while the price increase was at first considered a spike, it had now lasted longer than that. While current levels may not be sustainable, the Malaysian state oil firm is now looking towards a higher average level. “There is some consensus that we will see a new level, not necessarily at the level it is today,” he said. “The sustainability of price will be dependent on the capacity shortages we are experiencing today.” He would not comment on at what level or in what range Petronas thinks the oil price will settle in the future. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Piracy ‘could be terrorist prelude’
Singapore: Pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait show up the vulnerability of the shipping industry to terrorism all too clearly, warns Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The strategic Malacca Strait, through which 30% of world trade and 50% of its oil passes, remains a hotbed for piracy and just last week two crewmen were kidnapped for ransom by heavily armed pirates. “We know terrorists have been studying maritime targets across the region. The recent spate of violent pirate attacks in the Malacca Straits shows up our vulnerabilities only too clearly, but a terrorist attack would be a threat of an altogether different magnitude,” Mr Lee said at the fourth Shangri-La dialogue security forum in Singapore. “Disruption of this vital artery would have immediate economic and strategic repercussions far beyond Southeast Asia. The threat is real and urgent.” While links between pirates and potential maritime terrorists are unproven, experts believe their modus operandi would be very similar — meaning that if countries are unable to defend shipping against pirates in the key waterway, they would also be unable to defend against a terrorist attack. Although noting that primary responsibility for security in the Strait lay with the littoral states, he also said there was a need to draw on the resources of user states. The users, for their part, have considerable interest in contributing to this effort, as no country will want to be found lacking should an incident happen. Following a lunchtime discussion of 16 defence ministers in the region, Singapore’s defence minister Teo Chee Hean said that there was a growing consensus among states regarding the issue of security on the Malacca Strait. Three broad principles underpin this consensus, he said. The primary responsibility for the security of regional waterways lay with the littoral states; there was nonetheless a significant role to be played by the user states and the international community; and new co-operative measures should be forged in a manner that was respectful of sovereignty and consistent with international law. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Teo did not rule out joint naval patrols between the littoral states of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. “I would not rule them out but it is a matter which has to be discussed between them,” Mr Teo said. Last year’s much-vaunted co-ordinated patrols between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia ha ve been branded as ineffective by shipowners’ organisations and have failed to stem the tide of violent piracy incidents in the Malacca Strait. Piracy watchdog the International Maritime Bureau is among those that called for joint patrols where a right of hot pursuit across seaborders against pirates is allowed. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Piracy in Straits Highlights Need for Maritime Security by Jim Garamone
Singapore – In this part of the world, piracy is a real and deadly peril. The Straits of Malacca is a maritime choke point for ships going from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Asian defense experts examined the problem here today at the Asia Security Conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. A story in a recent Straits Times detailed a pirate boarding of a Thai ship. Pirates - armed to the teeth - boarded the ship, kidnapped the captain and a crewman and took the vessel's trading documents. All will be held for ransom, which the article said will be paid. More than 50,000 ships per year pass through the straits, piracy is increasing. The worry among defense experts in the region is that a terrorist group may affiliate with a pirate and attempt to close the waterway. The countries of the region understand the danger piracy poses, and are beginning to work together to confront the threat. Pacific nations - including the United States - are encouraging a more regional approach to the problem. About one-third of all goods shipped in the world pass through the Straits of Malacca. More than 600 miles long, the Straits of Malacca is the preferred path for Middle East oil to travel to Japan and China. Indian merchantmen use the straits to transit to the American West Coast. European goods travel through the straits to reach the Far East, and vice versa. Three nations control the straits: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In the straits are some narrow channels and shallow reefs that slow the speed of ocean-going ships, and it is dotted with thousands of islands that offer pirates refuge. All states that use the straits agree that maritime security should be a regional priority, but steps for a regional solution have been slow, officials said. Part of the reason is that the nations don't really agree on the nature of the threat. Singapore, for example, equates piracy with terrorism. Singapore's defense minister, Teo Chee Hean, called the pirates "maritime terrorists" and said Singapore would act on them as it would any terrorist group. Malaysia, while agreeing more needs to be done, sees pirates as common criminals. "Our view is that we have yet to find a credible link between terrorists - those who commit acts of aggression for a political motive - and modern-day pirates, whose primary aim is to derive commercial benefit from their acts," said Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Yab Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak. The threat has become such that merchantmen transiting the straits have defensive weapons, and some shippers have even placed security teams aboard their ships. The absolute bedrock of the effort is that the states of the area have the responsibility to police them. It is a sovereignty issue, said a U.S. defense official. "It's their waters," he said. "While they will accept help, anything that is done will ultimately lie with them." In July 2004, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore began coordinated patrols to combat piracy in the straits. Adm. William Fallon, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said this is a great step. He said his command will help the nations in their maritime security efforts. One major problem is surveillance. Fallon said there is a better picture of air and ground traffic than on the sea. He called the oceans a "vast ungoverned or weakly controlled space." He said pirates and terrorists use the seams in the region to operate. The defense official said that one problem is when the countries operate in their national zones. "If they find a pirate, they don't do hot pursuit," the official said. A pirate only has to dodge across an international boundary to be safe. Developing a common operating picture would go a long way toward solving this problem, Fallon said in a speech here. He said affordable technologies could be in place that would give maritime forces the ability to share information across national lines. The navies and coast guards of the littoral states are not used to operating together. This interoperability gap also causes problems. Fallon said that with due respect for national sovereignty, "organizational and operational issues should be priority issues for agreement and exercises" should begin as soon as possible. Fallon was very careful to avoid putting a U.S. solution forward. Rather, he said, the United States is willing to work with the nations of the region to fashion a local solution. This cooperation should include information sharing, he said. A priority is information exchange to build situational awareness. This would "illuminate the shadowy world of the criminal as well as terrorist activities," Fallon said. Defense officials said the problem in the straits really cries for an Asian-Pacific solution. Japan, China, India, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States and the Middle East all have stakes in keeping the straits open and safe. These states should join with the littoral states to craft a solution, U.S. officials said. Another problem is the relative effectiveness of the navies and coast guards involved. Officials rate the Singaporean and Malaysian maritime efforts as good. But the Indonesian maritime forces have resource problems. Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in the world. It is a nation with 17,000 islands, 1,000 of them permanently inhabited. The navy - not large by any means - is stretched. But a lot could be done with a minimal investment, said defense officials. Training and nonlethal equipment purchases could help the Indonesian navy modernize, officials said. Confidence-building measures also could help the Indonesians as they cooperate with neighbors and friends in the region, they added. Whatever is done in the maritime security area in the region depends on the littoral states. "It is crucial for countries to recognize that littoral states will have to remain in the driver's seat and retain primary responsibility for implementation of measures designed to strengthen security and safe passage in the straits," said Malaysia's Razak. The problem, ultimately, must have a local solution, he said. © American Forces Press Service.
Pirates attack tanker by Hari Krishnan
The recent pirate attack on a tanker in the Malacca Strait has renewed concerns of insurers and governments about the region's piracy problem. In the latest incident, eight pirates armed with automatic weapons and knives fired warning shots at the Thai-flagged tanker off Pangkor Island. Once aboard, they kidnapped the master and demanded ransom, the Financial Times reported. The International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said it was the fifth incident of kidnap for ransom in the strait since Feb. 28. The strategic strait between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula is the main sea lane through which much of world's oil and cargo pass. Piracy has long been rife in the seaway and the Pangkor incident is seen as part of a trend of increasingly violent and well-planned attacks, the report said. Some ship owners have even demanded private security to protect their vessels. There had been a lull in piracy activities after the tsunami last December but the lull is over and incidents, security experts say, are more likely now to include kidnapping. © 2005 United Press International.
Pirates demand ransom for kidnapped Thai captain, crew
Pirates have kidnapped a Thai captain and crewman from a tanker in the busy Malacca Strait. The head of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, Noel Choong, says the pirates have already demanded a ransom. Mr Choong says the band of between five and eight pirates approached on a fast boat and fired warning shots to stop the Thai-flagged vessel as it sailed off Pangkor island, on Malaysia's west coast. "They kidnapped the crewmen, took the trading documents and after that contacted the owner for a ransom," he said. "We do not know if it is one or two, or even more gangs involved, but what we do know is that it's easy money for them and that the countries concerned have to be serious and committed in dealing with these cases." Mr Choong said that the number of attacks increased in 2004 despite coordinated patrols by Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. He called on all affected nations to redouble their efforts. The Singaporean and Indonesian navies last week launched a system that provides real-time radar surveillance for the Singapore Strait to improve the fight against piracy and terrorism. The Malaysian government has established a new maritime agency to fight piracy, illegal fishing and environmental pollution, which is due to begin operation in November. © ABC 2005.
Pirates give up after stand-off by Noor Adzman Baharuddin
The pirates, who had hijacked a tanker laden with diesel, threatened to kill all 19 crew members and blow up the vessel if police personnel stormed the ship. But this was more bravado than anything else. They knew that they would be overpowered by the more than 60 police commandos and marine police personnel who had surrounded the Nepline Delima, about 23 nautical miles from Puala Rebak Besar near here. After three hours of negotiations, they surrendered with a guarantee from the police that they would not be harmed. State Police Chief Datuk Supian Amat said the pirates used a speedboat to approach the tanker, which was travelling from Singapore to Myanmar. When the pirates took control of the ship at 4am, a Malaysian crew member hid, then jumped into the pirates’ boat and made his way to the marine police headquarters in Bukit Malut here. Supian said a team of marine policemen and police commandos, led by Deputy Superintendent Abdul Salam Abdul Halim, was deployed to the scene. They found the tanker about three nautical miles from Thai waters at about 12.25pm. He said the pirates warned that they would kill the crew members and blow up the tanker if police stormed the vessel. Abdul Salam negotiated via radio with the pirates. He managed to coax them to steer the tanker closer to Pulau Rebak Besar before they finally surrendered at 3.20pm. It is understood that he told the leader of the pirates that there would be only one winner if there were to be a firefight. He predicted bloodshed and heavy casualties for the pirates, who are believed to have been terrorising vessels plying the Straits of Malacca for several years. The leader of the pirates asked for time to persuade his gang members to surrender and after a long while, came back with one request: "By God, promise that you will not hurt us." Supian said preliminary checks showed that the pirates carried documents stating they were from Aceh and Medan. The tanker captain and a crew member received outpatient treatment for minor cuts on their faces. © 2004 NST Online.
Pirates had links with international syndicate by Noor Adzman Baharuddin
Langkawi - The pirates involved in the recent botched hijacking of a tanker are believed to have links with international syndicates preying on commercial ships in the Straits of Malacca. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan said several more suspects were expected to be picked up in connection with the hijacking of the vessel Neptune Delima, which was carrying RM40 million worth of diesel. He added that they could include members of the 15-man crew of the vessel as well as those belonging to foreign syndicates. "Judging by their modus operandi, we believe the pirates had international links and that they had planned to sell the diesel to certain foreign parties. "We are working closely with our counterparts in Thailand and Indonesia to ascertain the pirates’ network and the extent of their activities," he said after attending a briefing on the foiled hijacking by the state Chief Police Officer, Datuk Mohd Supian Amat, at the Langkawi international airport today. Police have so far arrested 12 suspects, including two Indonesian crew members of the tanker. One of them is the tanker’s 35-year-old chief officer and the other, a 22-year-old deckhand. The pirates surrendered after a tense stand-off with Marine Police and commandos, about 12 hours after they stormed the vessel. The tanker had left Singapore on Sunday and was headed for Myanmar. A crew member, Mohamed Hamid, however, managed to slip away and escape in the pirates’ speedboat. He proceeded to the Marine Police headquarters in Bukit Malut and reported the incident.
Musa also did not discount the possibility of the pirates, all of them Indonesians aged between 20 and 40, having been involved in the eight high seas robberies reported in the Straits of Malacca so far this year. He reminded owners and skippers of ships plying the Straits of Malacca to devise a contingency plan to alert the authorities in the event of an emergency. "This will help the centre and other relevant agencies provide immediate assistance to vessels in distress," he said. On Mohamed’s daring feat, Musa said it was a good example of public-police co-operation in solving crimes. He said the various maritime agencies had stepped up their patrols to keep Malaysian waters, especially the busy Straits of Malacca, safe for commercial vessels. Musa also said that a team of divers was searching the seabed near the site of the hijacking for weapons, as the pirates were believed to have been heavily armed and could have dumped their weapons overboard before surrendering to the police. Later, Musa presented commendation letters from the Inspector-General of Police to Mohamed and 24 officers and personnel of the Marine Police boat PZ15. Deputy Superintendent Abdul Salam Abdul Halim, the commander of PZ15, was instrumental in negotiating with the pirates to surrender and subsequent release of crew members. Nepline Bhd executive chairman Datuk Dr Nik M Zain said the tanker would leave for Yangon tomorrow with the remaining crewmen and two new members, including a new chief officer. © NST Online.
Pirates hijack oil tanker in Malaysian waters
Kuala Lumpur- Ten armed pirates hijacked a Malaysian-registered oil tanker on Tuesday, but later surrendered to police after holding the crew hostage for nearly 12 hours, maritime officials said. The men, believed to be Indonesians, launched the pre-dawn attack on the tanker, which was carrying diesel and oil products to Myanmar, off Malaysia’s northern Langkawi island in the Malacca Strait, said marine police commander Abdul Rahman Ahmad. One of the tanker’s crew members managed to escape on a small boat during the attack, and alerted mainland authorities, said Abdul Rahman. Marine police chased down the ship and surrounded it, forcing the pirates to surrender after a six-hour stand off Police said the crew members were reported to be safe, adding that the pirates were being interrogated to determine the motive for their attack and if they were responsible for several other incidents in the straits. The Malacca Straits is one of the world’s busiest waterways, where more than 50,000 vessels ply it’s narrow waters every year carrying half the world’s oil and a third of global trade. Despite joint efforts by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore - the three countries bordering the pirate-infested waters - the Malacca Strait records one of the highest number of piracy attacks and kidnapping cases every year. © 2005 Khaleej Times.
Pirates hijack oil tanker in Malaysian waters, surrender to police
Kuala Lumpur - Suspected Indonesian pirates hijacked a Malaysian-registered tanker on Tuesday, held the crew hostage for nearly 12 hours and threatened to blow the vessel up, before surrendering to police and naval forces who laid siege on the ship, officials said. Ten pirates armed with rifles attacked the vessel before dawn off Malaysia's northern Langkawi island in the Malacca Strait, said marine police commander Abdul Rahman Ahmad. One of the tanker's 19 crew members escaped on a smaller boat and alerted mainland authorities, Abdul Rahman said. The tanker was carrying diesel and oil products from Port Klang in western Malaysia to Myanmar. The standoff ended six hours after police chased down and surrounded the ship, he said. The pirates, believed to be Indonesians, initially threatened to blow the tanker up, but after negotiations with police they surrendered, casting their rifles into the sea, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy watch center in Kuala Lumpur. ``We congratulate the police for successfully carrying out a smooth rescue without the loss of any lives or injuries,'' Choong said. The attack was the seventh this year in the strait, a pirate-infested route bordered by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Officials recorded 37 attacks last year in the waterway. Mokhtar Othman, a northern marine police spokesman, said officials will investigate whether the pirates were linked to those who abducted two Japanese and one Filipino from a Japanese-registered tug boat near the same location in March. The abductees were later released unharmed. Police in Langkawi were interrogating the pirates, Mokhtar said, adding it was not immediately clear whether the attackers' motive was robbery or kidnapping. More than 50,000 vessels each year ply the strait, which links Asia to Europe and the Middle East, carrying half the world's oil and a third of global commerce. Malaysia is expected to launch a new maritime security agency in November to combat piracy and other crimes on the high seas using 72 police, naval and customs patrol vessels. © 2005, The Hindu.
Pirates in Malaysian Waters Surrender
Indonesian pirates surrendered to police after hijacking a Malaysian-registered tank Tuesday. The pirates held the tank's crew hostage for nearly 12 hours, threatening to blow the vessel up. Ten pirates armed with rifles attacked the vessel before dawn off Malaysia's northern Langkawi Island in the Malacca Strait. One of the tanker's 19 crew members escaped and alerted mainland authorities of the hijack. The tanker was carrying diesel and oil products from Port Klang in western Malaysia to Myanmar. The standoff ended three hours after police chased down and surrounded the ship. It is not clear whether the attackers' motive was robbery or kidnapping. The attack was the seventh this year in the strait, a pirate-infested route bordered by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Officials recorded 37 attacks last year in the waterway. More than 50,000 vessels each year ply the strait. It links Asia to Europe and the Middle East, carrying half the world's oil and a third of global commerce. Malaysia is expected to launch a new maritime security agency in November to combat piracy and other crimes. © CRIENGLISH.com.
Pirates release hostages
The kidnapped master and crew member of a Thai product tanker have been released. They were kidnapped by Indonesian pirates who attacked the ship in the Malacca Strait on 1 June. The two Thai nationals were escorted to Adang Island in Thailand on the night of 15 June, and were picked up by the ship owner's representatives from a fishing boat, Thai television has reported. The ship, which has been named in reports as BPP-14, was carrying 1,600 tonnes of fuel oil from Ranong to Krabi. Details have not been revealed, but Fairplay understands that a ransom of $35,000 was paid to secure the release against an initial demand of $100,000. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd.
Pirates want ransom for release of Thai captain
Petaling Jaya - Armed pirates are demanding ransom for the release of a Thai captain and one crewman kidnapped from a tanker in the Straits of Malacca, off Pulau Pangkor, on Wednesday. International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy reporting centre regional office head Noel Choong said yesterday that between five and eight pirates in a fast boat, all armed with firearms, stormed the tanker at 8pm. The vessel laden with 1,104 tonnes of fuel was sailing from an eastern port in Thailand to Rayong, a western port in the country. He said they took the captain, a crewman and trading documents, and fired several shots in the air before escaping. “The remaining 14 crewmen were not injured and they continued on their voyage after alerting enforcement agencies. “Even before the tanker docked, the pirates had contacted the shipowner in Bangkok and demanded ransom for the release of the seamen,” he said. Choong declined to disclose the name of the tanker or the amount demanded. He said IMB viewed the latest kidnap with concern because this was the second case involving seamen this year. In March, a Japanese captain and two Indonesian engineers were abducted. They were subsequently released following an undisclosed settlement. © Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Regional maritime security a common concern: defense ministers
Singapore - Defense ministers attending a security conference here agreed on Saturday that regional maritime security, particularly in the Malacca Straits, is a matter of common concern. The ministers to the fourth IISS Asia Security Conference came to the consensus based on three broad principles: the littoral states shoulder the primary responsibility for the security of regional waterways, the user states and the international community have a significant role to play, and new cooperative measures should be forged in a manner that was respectful of sovereignty and consistent with international law, according to a statement from the Singapore Ministry of Defense. The ministers also recognized the need to enhance practical forms of maritime security cooperation in accordance with these principles, said the statement. During a private luncheon hosted by Singapore Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean on Saturday, the ministers also exchanged views on the regional security landscape, with the situation on the Korean Peninsula in particular, as well as on the global threat of extremism and terrorism. Organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the three-day conference attracted more than 200 participants from over 20 countries and regions from Asia Pacific, North America and Europe to address major regional security issues. The annual security conference, which opened on Friday, has been held in Singapore's Shangri-La hotel since 2002. Thus, it is also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. © 2005 Earl G. Graves, Ltd.
Sailing the green way by Simon Johnson
A ship powered by the forces of mother nature sets the course for green ocean transport, writes SIMON JOHNSON. Will technological advances, fuel costs and environmental concerns bring back commercial sailing for cargo ships? Shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen (WW) has designed a high-tech “back to the future” freighter powered solely by wind and waves in the expectation that increasing regulation and shipping costs over the next 20 years will force the industry to come up with greener vessels. “In part it is legislation, in part that we want to be seen as innovators,” said Lena Blomqvist, WW’s vice president with responsibility for the environment. “We realise that we are part of the problem and we want to be part of the solution.” The Orcelle will have emission levels near zero and WW hopes the design would allow such a ship to carry up 10,000 cars and trucks and set the pattern for the future transport of cargo. Propulsion for the five-hulled ship, named after an endangered species of dolphin, would come from high-tech sails and a set of pods below the water line that would trap the energy of the waves. Additionally, solar cells in the sails would charge fuel cells to power electric motors. “When we are on the ocean we have almost limitless access to energy, but a modern vessel fights the elements,” said Per Brinchmann, the naval architect who designed the ship to turn the power of mother nature into motion on the ocean. “The albatross gets 98% of its energy for flight from the wind and 2% from its wings.” Concern for the bottom line has already pushed WW to cut the fuel use of its existing fleet by 10% over the last few years and reduce nitrogen and sulphur dioxide emissions. Sulphur dioxide causes acid rain and nitrogen emissions upset the balance of nutrients in the ocean, both big problems in the Baltic Sea where WW is based. Regulators are also stepping up pressure. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will introduce rules to cut sulphur in fuels for some ocean regions in 2006. Tighter rules on oil emissions in bilge water, anti-fouling paints and recycling are also likely to follow. At the same time, companies which transport goods by ship need to reassure increasingly concerned investors that they are taking green issues in their supply chain seriously. It is not just pollution from marine diesel - higher in sulphur and worse for the environment than more refined types of fuel - which the new ship would eliminate. Clever design on the Orcelle eliminates the need for ballast water, which can contain up to 7,000 marine species that have a huge impact when dumped outside their native ecosystem. “Ballast water is a huge problem,” said Dr Simon Walmsley, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s British marine programme. “It affects biodiversity and has the potential to wipe out indigenous species which are sensitive.” Areas like the Arctic are particularly at risk, he said. Between 3 billion and 5 billion tonnes of ballast water is transported around the world by ships each year, not far behind the 6 billion tonnes of cargo carried in 2003. IMO rules on ballast water should be introduced in 2009. Although the Orcelle may never to be built, WW believes that like a concept car, much of the technology showcased on the ship will find its way into vessels over the next 20 years. – Reuters © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Sarawak Maritime Academy Ready By December
Sibu - Sarawak is to have its own maritime training academy by December this year. State Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh performed the earth-breaking ceremony at the former Public Works Department's divisional office at Upper Lanang Road here Tuesday. He said the RM11.5 million academy, to be known as the Sarawak Maritime Academy, would be the second in the country, after the Malaysian Maritime Academy in Melaka. Wong said two internationally recognised maritime organisations from the Philippines -- the Philippines Maritime Foundation Incorporation and the Fame Maritime Foundation Incorportaion -- were helping to set up the academy and to organise its courses and syllabus. "The academy will be recognised by the International Maritime Organisation which is a body of over 90 countries. "We will allow the Filipino experts to run the academy together with some qualified Malaysians but five or six years later, locals will take over," he said. He said it would begin basic three- to five-month courses for about 50 residential participants before looking into organising diploma and degree courses. Wong said the academy would train Malaysians and those from the Asean countries and eventually, the Asian countries, as world-recognised seafarers. Speaking to reporters later, he said about 20,000 people in the state were involved in maritime occupations but only about 5,000 were officially recognised. He said Sarawak needed to produce 12,000 to 13,000 seafarers each year due to the high demand and the establishment of the academy would serve this purpose. © 2005 BERNAMA.
Sasakawa pushes ‘user pays’ principle in anti-piracy fight
Japan - Users of high-risk waterways such as the Malacca Strait should contribute to financing the safety of navigation, one of the maritime industries’ main benefactors urged last night. Yohei Sasakawa, president of the Nippon Foundation, said there was “a need to re-evaluate our traditional thinking that the safety on the seas is always offered free of charge”. The foundation is a philanthropic organisation which, for example, has provided $100m of assistance to improving navigation in the Malacca Strait. Delivering a special lecture on Maritime Human Resources Development and its Future’ at the International Maritime Organisation, Mr Sasakawa stressed that international co-operation was essential to tackling dangers such as piracy, substandard shipping and harmful emissions. “IMO member states are trying to address these issues,” he acknowledged. “But some of the issues are too difficult to be tackled by unilateral measures of individual governments.” The only possible way forward was international co-operation in which the IMO was expected to play a central role. “I firmly believe that the IMO will be able to work together with member states, thus making the measure more effective and enforceable,” Mr Sasakawa said. The Nippon Foundation was willing to make a further contribution when IMO took a more positive initiative in addressing the difficult challenges facing the international maritime community. “We are prepared to set sail with you for the sustainable development of maritime activities,” he said. Mr Sasakawa defined the “sustainable development of maritime activities” as “an international policy framework that enables us to seek the co-existence of the oceans and of mankind”. Turning to the safety of the Malacca Strait, the busiest in the world with 80,000 ships a year passing through, he noted that many countries benefited from its use. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Seafarer missing after collision off Singapore
Singapore: A FILIPINO seafarer is missing after a Malaysian bulk carrier sank following a collision with an Evergreen containership close to the Singapore Strait. The Malaysian registered Everise Glory, 13,519 gt, owned by Everise Maritime sank on Saturday morning 14km northeast of Horsburgh Lighthouse after colliding with the Tanjung Pelepas bound, 12,405 gt Uni Concord. Vessels from the Singapore navy, Police Coast Guard and a passing fishing trawler managed to rescue 23 of the 24 crew from the Malaysian bulker. A search and rescue operation is underway for the missing seafarer, a Filipino. Five injured crew members from the Everise Glory were taken to Changi General Hospital and discharged later on Saturday the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore said. The Uni-Concord sustained damage to its bow but was in a stable condition following the collision. No pollution was reported following the accident although MPA said slight traces of oil had been found around the sunken vessel. “Salvage companies have been engaged by the vessel’s agents to clean up the oil traces. MPA has installed a navigational buoy to mark the location of the sunken vessel,” the port authority said. The MPA said that it is investigating the incident. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Securing the straits
Speaking at a regional security forum in Singapore on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had called on the international community to make "concrete contributions" to help the littoral states develop the capabilities which would allow them to continue to make the Straits of Malacca "an unattractive target for pirates and terrorists". On Tuesday, Najib specified military surveillance aircraft as an example of the kind of international support the country is looking for. In addition to being a good example of the material requirements required to develop "eyes in the sky" to ensure the safety of ships travelling through the straits, it also served to reiterate the principles underpinning Malaysia’s policy on maritime security. In this particular case, while user nations could assist in delivering the aircraft, it would be Malaysian defence personnel who would be operating the aircraft. It cannot be otherwise if such assistance is to stay in line with the country’s stand on safety in the straits. As the Deputy Prime Minister has reiterated, it must be consistent with the principle of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is also a need to recognise that the primary responsibility for safe passage in the straits lies with the littoral states. Malaysia believes that any course of action to ensure maritime security and any role for user states should take into account the need to respect the sovereignty of nations as well as the primary position of the littoral states. For this reason, Malaysia has been averse to foreign warships participating in the patrolling of the straits, or to merchant ships flying foreign flags being escorted by their own naval vessels, or to mercenaries being hired to provide security. While safe passage through the straits is an issue of international interest because of its strategic importance to global trade, this is not sufficient grounds for the deployment of foreign navies. Apocalyptic predictions of terrorist attacks on shipping in the straits cannot be used as a pretext for foreign military intervention in the region. As Najib reiterated in Singapore, the country remains "steadfast" in the belief that "the littoral states are capable of patrolling the straits without external intervention". While there is a need for assistance in training and technology from the international community to boost our capacity to police the straits, there is also a need for greater co-operative measures among the littoral states and to speak with a common voice. The shortcomings in co-operation in maritime surveillance, intelligence-sharing and military operations have to be overcome. The international community will only be reassured of our ability to safeguard the straits if we can demonstrate the effectiveness of our measures to deal with the threats. This is the only way to check unwanted intervention by external powers in what is purely a matter for the littoral states of the Straits of Malacca. © NST Online.
Singapore-owned tanker detained in Malaysia
A Singapore-owned tanker and its crew, suspected of spilling oil off the coast of Johor, has been detained in the state's Pasir Gudang Port, a state official said yesterday. "The chemistry department is doing a test to find out if the oil in the water matches that in the tanker," Mr Freddie Long, a Johor state executive councillor, told AFP. The spill has forced scores of fishermen to stay at home, he added. Mr Long, who is in charge of environmental issues in the state, said the tanker was detained on Saturday and a clean-up was expected to begin today once equipment is deployed. A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) official told Today last night that the MPA had not received reports of any vessel being detained in Malaysia. A SINGAPORE-owned tanker and its crew, suspected of spilling oil off the coast of Johor, has been detained in the state's Pasir Gudang Port, a state official said yesterday. "The chemistry department is doing a test to find out if the oil in the water matches that in the tanker," Mr Freddie Long, a Johor state executive councillor, told AFP. The spill has forced scores of fishermen to stay at home, he added. Mr Long, who is in charge of environmental issues in the state, said the tanker was detained on Saturday and a clean-up was expected to begin today once equipment is deployed. A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) official told Today last night that the MPA had not received reports of any vessel being detained in Malaysia. A SINGAPORE-owned tanker and its crew, suspected of spilling oil off the coast of Johor, has been detained in the state's Pasir Gudang Port, a state official said yesterday. "The chemistry department is doing a test to find out if the oil in the water matches that in the tanker," Mr Freddie Long, a Johor state executive councillor, told AFP. The spill has forced scores of fishermen to stay at home, he added. Mr Long, who is in charge of environmental issues in the state, said the tanker was detained on Saturday and a clean-up was expected to begin today once equipment is deployed. A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) official told Today last night that the MPA had not received reports of any vessel being detained in Malaysia. A SINGAPORE-owned tanker and its crew, suspected of spilling oil off the coast of Johor, has been detained in the state's Pasir Gudang Port, a state official said yesterday. "The chemistry department is doing a test to find out if the oil in the water matches that in the tanker," Mr Freddie Long, a Johor state executive councillor, told AFP. The spill has forced scores of fishermen to stay at home, he added. Mr Long, who is in charge of environmental issues in the state, said the tanker was detained on Saturday and a clean-up was expected to begin today once equipment is deployed. A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) official told Today last night that the MPA had not received reports of any vessel being detained in Malaysia. © 2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Singapore PM says terrorists are studying maritime targets
Terrorists are studying maritime targets in Southeast Asia and Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked terror group, remains "highly dangerous," Singapore's prime minister said Friday. "We know that terrorists have been studying maritime targets across the region," Lee Hsien Loong said at the opening of a regional defense ministers' conference. "The recent spate of violent pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait shows up our vulnerabilities only too clearly, but a terrorist attack would be of an altogether different magnitude." He said Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a spate of bombings across Southeast Asia, was ``morphing into a loose web'' of groups.
"While the JI may be weakened, it remains highly dangerous," he said. The network is blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the Jakarta Marriott suicide bombing a year later which killed 11. It is also blamed for last September's suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, which left 10 dead. Two of its purported top leaders _ Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top _ were allegedly central players in all three attacks and remain fugitives in Indonesia. Lee said the reason the network was able to reinvigorate itself is because its top leaders remain at large. "It is also tapping into like-minded groups in Indonesia to provide manpower and support for its terrorist activities," Lee said at a gathering of 500 delegates. Washington and Singapore are concerned that militants could target the flow of 50,000 ships plying the Malacca Strait yearly or hijack a supertanker and use it as a giant floating bomb. The strait lies between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and carries half the world's oil and a third of its commerce. Singapore has said it is open to involvement by other countries, including the United States, in helping to secure the waterway, where pirate attacks occur. Malaysia and Indonesia said they are able to handle their sectors with no outside assistance. © 2005 Chinadaily.com.cn.
Singapore Says Sea Attack Threat Real, Seeks Help
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on June 3 that a vital sea lane in Southeast Asia remained under threat from terror attacks and sought security support from countries outside the region. Speaking at a regional security conference attended by U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Lee said terrorists were eyeing the narrow Strait of Malacca through which about 50,000 ships pass each year. “The threat is real and urgent. We know that terrorists have been studying maritime targets across the region,” he said. Singapore, a staunch U.S. ally, has riled its neighbors Indonesia and Malaysia in the past by calling for American help in policing the Malacca Strait. But Lee said disruption of the sea route would have “immediate economic and strategic repercussions far beyond Southeast Asia” as 30 percent of world trade and half the world’s oil goes through it. “There’s a range of things you can do, ranging from resources to training, to capability development, to actual provision of units capable of providing security,” he said. Lee admitted that the involvement of non-littoral states was a sensitive matter but said the issue would be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore soon. “We can deal with a pirate attack ... but if you have a terrorist attack ... on the morning after, who wants to say ‘I did not want to ask for help’ and who wants to say ‘I was asked for help and I did not want to help’?” Lee argued. Singapore is a major base for Western businesses in Asia and its busy container port lies at the southern end of the strait. Lee said that although counter-terror operations by Southeast Asian governments have crippled the threat posed by Jemaah Islamiah (JI) — a radical group with links to al Qaeda — the threat remained. “Like al Qaeda itself, the JI is morphing into a loose web of dispersed individuals and small groups, highly resistant to penetration and detection ... So, while JI may be weakened, it remains highly dangerous,” he said. In 2001, Singapore foiled planned attacked by Jemaah Islamiah militants in the city-state but the predominantly ethnic Chinese island at the doorstep of Muslim-dominated Malaysia and Indonesia still considers itself as a target for an attack. © DefenseNews.com.
Singapore to boost freight clearing
THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) plans to introduce an over-the-counter or OTC clearing facility that will initially cover energy derivatives and forward freight agreements (FFA). The move, which is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2006, is aimed at tapping the demand for a central clearing of crude and refined oil and freight products, SGX said yesterday. Demand for such a facility is created by the growth in commodities traded and commodity linked derivatives in Asia, SGX explained. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority has welcomed the proposed move describing it as a 'strong boost' to the growing freight derivates market in Asia. “MPA welcomes and supports this initiative, which will augment Singapore’s position as an International Maritime Centre,” Tay Lim Heng, chief executive of MPA said. © Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd.
Singapore unveils maritime 'think tank' centre
Singapore: THE National University of Singapore has launched a new maritime “think tank” backed by funding from the industry and developed as a 'brainchild' of IMC Group chairman Frank Tsao. The Centre for Maritime Studies is the latest move by the Singapore government to establish the country as an International Maritime Centre and was thought up by Tan Sri Tsao after he was asked by then Singapore Prime Minister, now Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong to work out a proposal to help in this achieving this goal. “Today’s formation of a research center called Centre for Maritime Studies in the NUS is the first step to carry out maritime studies by way of research involving the local enterprises and then to formulate certain concepts for implementation by the local enterprises in collaboration with other countries,” he said at the launch on Wednesday. Tan Sri Tsao will also be the centre’s first chairman. NUS said that the centre aimed to pool talent for various academic fields. “Within NUS, there is a substantial pool of researchers who are already working on diverse aspects of maritime issues, from the perspective of economics, engineering, law, information technology, business and management as well as shipping and port policy, logistics, operations research, environment and maritime history,” said Professor Shih Choon Fong, NUS president. The centre will focus on maritime law, policy and security; offshore and energy; the transport supply chain; developments of the maritime industry and trade dynamics and their implications for shipping. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
South Korea joins anti-piracy demands
South Korea: SOUTH Korea’s President, Roh Moo-hyun, yesterday joined the clamour for more security on the Malacca Strait. “President Roh asked [International Maritime Organization] secretary general Efthimios E Mitropoulos for the IMO to take a leading role in guaranteeing safe passage through the Malacca Straits, the most important oil transportation route for our country,” Mr Roh’s spokesman, Kim Man-soo, said after Mr Mitropoulos visited the presidential palace in Seoul. Mr Roh said: “The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fishery Affairs Ministry should provide full assistance to help Professor Chai Lee-sik of Korea University, who was recently elected as chairman of the IMO’s legal affairs committee, carry out his duties successfully.” South Korea joined the UN maritime body in 1962 and contributes $600,000 a year. Mr Roh’s remarks follow growing concerns over the safe passage through the southeast Asian channel that borders Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The Japanese have been the most proactive of non Malacca-bordering states, promising cash, technology and vessels to combat the piracy scourge. © Informa Asia Publishing Ltd.
Speedy communication vital to tackle pirate attacks by Lee Keng Fatt
Kangar - Vessels, including fishing boats, plying the Straits of Malacca should have sophisticated communication systems to contact the authorities immediately on encountering pirates. Armed Forces chief Laksamana Datuk Seri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor said today the ability to contact the authorities with speed was paramount especially in tackling pirate attacks. However, he added, that was often not the case as the authorities were usually informed of such attacks late. "Sometimes, the victims were only able to contact the authorities more than 24 hours after the incident. This has happened a few times. "It will surely make a difference if the vessels or even the fishermen have sophisticated communication systems," he told reporters after an audience with the Regent of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra, at Istana Arau. Anwar, who is also Navy chief, praised the Marine police for their efficiency in handling the recent hijacking of the vessel Neptune Delima, which was carrying RM40 million worth of diesel, off Langkawi. © NST Online.
US defence secretary calls for cooperation in maritime security
Bangkok (AP) - Thai officials on Monday assured U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that violence in their country's Muslim-dominated south was being addressed and wasn't tied to global terrorists, while Rumsfeld urged more cooperation against sea piracy, the Thai defence minister said. Rumsfeld appealed to Thailand and other countries in the region to step up their teamwork with the U.S. in fighting piracy, especially in the Malacca Strait, where the problem has worsened recently, said Thailand's defence minister, Gen. Thammarak Isarangura Na Ayutthaya, after meeting with Rumsfeld on Monday. More than 50,000 ships pass through the 900-kilometer (550-mile) strait - which borders neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia - carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce. Analysts say a terror strike in the strait could paralyze global trade for months. The U.S. Navy has offered help to prevent an extremist attack - but insists this would not impinge on the national sovereignty of the bordering countries. Thammarak said Thai officials assured Rumsfeld that an outburst of violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim south since early last year was not international terrorism, but a local problem the Thai government will deal with. A renewed Islamic insurgency has claimed more than 860 lives in almost daily shooting and bomb attacks in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani - the only predominantly Muslim provinces in this largely Buddhist country. Southern Thai Muslims have long complained of discrimination, especially in jobs and education. Rumsfeld also met with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Bangkok's Government House. Thaksin said earlier that the discussion would focus on bilateral cooperation "as Thailand and the U.S. have long been allies." He did not elaborate. Thailand and the United States have maintained close ties for decades. The Southeast Asian nation has received U.S. military assistance since 1950. During the Vietnam War, the United States built military bases throughout Thailand and its cities became popular rest stops for U.S. troops. The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok grew to become the second largest in the world after Cairo. Rumsfeld arrived amid heavy monsoon rains late Sunday from Singapore, where he headed a U.S. delegation at a regional security conference. The U.S. defence secretary made a private visit to the Grand Palace in Bangkok later Monday. He was to depart early Tuesday for Norway. @ The Star Online.
Vietnam urges Malaysia to release fishermen
Hanoi - Vietnam called on Malaysia Thursday to release 67 fishermen from Vietnamese vessels which were detained after allegedly straying into Malaysian waters and fishing illegally. "We suppose those fishermen entered an area overlapping (the maritime borders of the two countries), only for fishing purposes," said Nguyen Ngoc Hung, director of foreign affairs department of Ba Ria Vung Tau province in southern Vietnam, where the ships were registered. "Therefore, we call on Malaysian authorities to release them on humanitarian grounds," he said. The ships were detained by the Malaysian navy on June 18 and are now being held at the port of Bintulu in Malaysian Borneo. A Bintulu district police official told AFP in Kuala Lumpur that a total of 115 Vietnamese and one Myanmar crew were aboard nine fishing boats that strayed into Malaysian waters but the Vietamese authorities could not confirm this. Malaysian media reports said police suspected they had been fishing illegally for the previous two weeks, and that they had transferred their catch to their "mother ship" outside Malaysian waters. Families of fishermen in another southern province, Kien Giang, have also complained to Vietnamese authorities that up to five of their fishing vessels are being detained by the Malaysian navy. © 2005 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.
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