Piracy & Ballast Water Management was Discussed at the FASA ECM in Bangkok
Piracy & Ballast Water Management was Discussed at the FASA ECM in Bangkok
JAKARTA - Indonesia National Shipowners Association (INSA) attended the 53rd FASA (Federation of ASEAN Shipowners' Association) Executive Committee Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
The meeting was attended by shipping associations of ASEAN countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand as the host, Vietnam and Philippines.
From INSA attended Chairman of INSA Johnson W. Sutjipto and Deputy Chairman Djoni Sutji. "It is important for INSA to be present at international forums such as FASA to discuss the development of the latest issues related to the shipping industry," Johnson said.
He explained at this meeting, a number of issues will be discussed, namely the development of Piracy & Armed Robbery Status Updates – Asia Region, Piracy & Armed Robbery Status Updates – Worldwide, 73rd Session of The IMO Marine Environment and Protection Committee (MEPC 73) and Ballast Water Management Convention Same Risks Area (SRA).
PIRACY & ARMED ROBBERY STATUS UPDATE—WORLDWIDE.
IBM has released its report on Piracy against ships for the period January to June 2018.
In the report, it was noted that:
- A total of 107 incidents were reported in the first six months of 2018—69 vessels were boarded, with 23 attempted attacks, 11 vessels fired upon and 4 vessels hijacked.
- No vessels were hijacked in the second quarter
- The number of crew kidnappings decreased from 41 in the second quarter of 2017 to 25 during the same period in 2018. However, all 25 crew kidnappings occurred in the Gulf of Guinea.
There are also increasing number of attacks happening in Yemen. The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and EUNAVFOR assessed that incidents are highly likely related to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the targeting of merchant shipping from nations supporting the Saudi
Led Coalition (SLC). Given the location of the incidents, there continues to be a risk of collateral damage of misidentification to all merchant traffic including those not flagged to SLC states. The requirement for vigilance when transiting this area, together with the timely reporting of all suspicious incident, remains crucial.
Companies, ships and seafarers are urged to follow the guidance in BMP5, the Global Counter Piracy Guidance for Companies, Masters and Seafarers and the Guidance on Maritime Security in the Southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, and to utilize the MSTC whilst remaining as far from the Yemen coast as navigationally safe.
PIRACY & ARMED ROBBERY STATUS UPDATE—ASIAN REGION.
ReCAAP has released its report on Piracy against ships in Asia for January to September 2018. In the report, it was noted that:
- There are 64 incidents reported in January to September 2018 – of which, 50 are actual incidents and 14 were attempted incidents. This is a 3% increase as compared to the same period in 2017.
- 49 are incidents onboard ships at anchor/berth while 15 incidents were for ships underway.
- Majority were CAT 4 incidents (petty theft)
- CAT 1, CAT 2 and CAT 3 incidents were among the lowest during the 10 year period of January-September of 2014-2018.
Abduction of Crew for Ransom in Sulu- Celebes Sea.
Despite a decrease of incidents, the threat remains as demonstrated by latest incident on 11 September 2018 where two Indonesian crew were abducted from finishing boat Sri Dewi 1.
Status of Abducted Crew (as of 30 September 2018)
A total of 63 crew had been abducted and as of 30 September 2018, 48 have been released/rescued, 8 are still in captivity and 7 killed.
BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT CONVENTION SAME RISKS AREA (SRA).
Members may recall that the Committee has consistently called for the creation of a SRA within ASEAN waters that will exempt vessels engaged solely in Intra – ASEAN trades from the international Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water & Sediments (BWM Convention), since ASEAN states are likely to share similar or identical ecosystems.
At the last ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (AMTWG) held in August 2018, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) had provided an update to the AMTWG on the SRA Desktop Study. (*)
- By admin
- 19 Dec 2018
- 1308
- INSA