New Admiralty Court in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: A new Admiralty Court focusing on maritime disputes will commence today along with the New Civil Court (NCvC).

Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi said the centralisation of information on registration of claims and caveats at the Admiralty Court will greatly alleviate time and expense, compared with having to check on such matters at various registries throughout the country.

“The purpose of the court is to give parties the option, by consent, to have all claims dealt with expeditiously at one centralised point, in a court which routinely deals with such matters,” he said in his speech at its launch in the Jalan Duta court complex here yesterday.

Officially open: Zaki (left) officiating the Admiralty Court at the Court Complex Library at Jalan Duta Thursday. Also present were Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Md Raus Sharif (right) and Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Seri Arifin Zakaria. — Bernama

Currently, there are 65 admiralty-related cases in the country with 35 cases being handled in Kuala Lumpur. Only 14 of the 35 are backlog cases. Zaki added that the target was for cases to be disposed of within nine months.

Among cases under the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court would be those involving shipping, marine insurance, death or losses in marine activities, international trading and admiralty-related issues under Section 24(b) ofthe Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

High Court judge Justices P. Nallini and K. Anantham will deal with the matters arising in the new court, which will be supported by an admiralty registry comprising registrars, clerks and bailiffs.

Later, Zaki told a press conference that he hoped the court would benefit the business community and improve the country’s economy by attracting more people to Kuala Lumpur.

“Assuming a collision takes place between ships in the Straits of Malacca,” he said, “the parties can go to Indonesia, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

“The perception now is that Singapore is faster and more efficient in disposing of the case. These are the people we are trying to attract.”

Zaki added that the court was also testing a new system that would enable lawyers to handle case management matters via teleconference. The system, expected to help reduce time and costs, has been tested since a week ago.

Source: The Star

Container ship catches fire off Port Klang

An Oman-bound container ship, MV Charlotte Mearsk, carrying 1,000 containers and 21 crew members, caught fire some 111km off Port Klang Wednesday night.

District maritime enforcement chief Maritime Capt Mohd Amir Hamzah said the fire broke out in the ship's cargo area around 10.10pm.

"All the crew are safe," he told a news conference here Thursday.

He said that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) dispatched its KM Danga vessel and a speedboat to the scene upon receiving information on the incident.

"Although we were told that the crew were putting out the fire, and would proceed with their journey, we went to the scene nonethless," he said.

Mohd Amir said that when the MMEA team arrived around 4am Thursday, the containers were still on fire.

A Bombardier helicopter and another ship, KM Marlin, were called in to help control the fire, he added.

"We have yet to ascertain the cause of the fire and the items in the containers," he said, adding that the MMEA was also identifying the ship's owner.

The operation to put out the fire was still underway in the afternoon.

Source: The Star

Trade eyes alternate routes, oil buffers over Malacca risk

Oil traders are concerned about supply disruptions via the Malacca Strait after the Singapore Navy warned of possible attacks on tankers, but said alternate routes could be used that add slightly to costs while stocks on landed and floating storages offer ample buffer.

However, they cautioned that the more than 30 tankers crowding the waters off Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia used as storage tanks for distillates, fuel oil and crude could also be targets.

Malaysia and Indonesia are bolstering security in the Strait of Malacca, through which flows at least 15 million barrels of oil each day, while Singapore also raised alert levels and beefed up security at its airport and new casino resorts after the navy’s warning.

“Of course, we are concerned. But there’s nothing more that we can do on our part as the cargo owners to prevent this from happening,” a senior Singapore-based Asian trader said today.

“The alternatives are easy enough. The diversion around Indonesia adds two to three days to sailing time and costs a little bit more, but that’s OK.”

The trader said in the event of an attack on a tanker, the loss of a single cargo might be a problem for the owner, “but it’s an opportunity for everyone else to sell at higher prices”.

If the strait was blocked after an attack, tankers could sail further south along the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra via the Sunda Strait and head north to Singapore, adding two to three days of sailing time. Ships moving to North Asia could sail towards East Java via the Lombok Strait or Banda Strait.

For example, this would add US$20,000-US$30,000 (RM68,000-RM102,000) per day to the cost of carrying diesel or kerosene on an 80,000-tonne tanker.

Traders said the loss of a single cargo, even if it was on board a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), would have minimal impact on the market’s demand-supply dynamics because for distillates alone, some 14 million barrels were being stored on tankers in international waters around Southeast Asia.

“It could be disruptive to oil trades, but it would be not catastrophic,” said David Kirsch, PFC Energy’s Director of Market Intelligence Service.

“It would also raise insurance rates, but typically the price of oil rises in conjunction with these insurance rates, so the impact is on the consumers, not the transit trade.”

Shipping and industry groups have advised shippers to take extra care when passing through the Malacca Strait and have increased vigilance on their vessels.

Traders also said there were about 4 million to 5 million tonnes of fuel oil and crude on board converted VLCCs anchored off Malaysia’s southern ports of Tanjong Pelepas and Pasir Gudang.

While these provide a comfortable cushion to the market if an attack triggers serious disruptions, they also face risks.

“They are as vulnerable as any tanker sailing along the Strait. But maybe less of a risk, because they are in closer proximity with each other and help can be rendered more readily,” said a trader, who has cargoes on floating storages.

“Also, it’s probably less dangerous because fuel oil and distillates are less flammable. But I don’t think these crazy guys are going to have the intelligence to check what’s on board before they decide to go after a ship.”

Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks and Opinions LLC said a global market struggling with oversupply would view disruptions such as a closing of the Malacca Strait or the refinery damage in Chile as supportive factors.

“As with Chile, the refined products that are in great oversupply are already water-borne and easy enough to move around the Strait,” he said, pointing to recent moves to send diesel to the quake-hit Latin American country, which have sent gas oil cracks to 11-month highs near US$10 a barrel.

“I think there is the shock and hype factor about the delay for ships to get through, but the supply that so many are desperately looking to move gets a chance to ease.”

Still, most traders welcomed the heightened security in the Strait, which has been plagued by piracy, adding that this would help deter attacks and ease their worries.

“I would expect the Strait to be very heavily patrolled, and the likelihood of any attack materialising is quite low — you have all that security on standby to prevent it from happening,” said a distillates trader with a European firm.

Source: Malaysian Insider

Terror threat in Malacca, Singapore Straits

Authorities have said that a terrorist group may be planning attacks on ships in the Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Straits.

International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre head of Asian region Noel Chung said the organisation was alerted by a foreign agency to this threat and has passed on the alert to the relevant regional authorities in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

He said that while threats of piracy were common in both straits, a terror threat against ships was new to the waters.

“This alert was not issued by us, so we cannot tell you what level or how serious the threat is,” he told The Star.

Chung advised ships plying both straits to be extra vigilant and conduct radar lookouts.

“Usually, ships keep a lookout after dark to thwart pirate attacks. We are advising them to keep a 24-hour watch,” he said.

International news agency AFP reported that an unidentified terrorist group is planning attacks against oil tankers in the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, quoting the Singapore Navy and a shipping association on Thursday.

The Singapore Shipping Association said it had received an advisory from the Singapore Navy Information Fusion Centre about “an indication that a terrorist group is planning attacks on oil tankers in the Malacca Straits.”

It said “this does not preclude possible attacks on other large vessels with dangerous cargo.”

“The terrorists’ intent is probably to achieve widespread publicity and showcase that it remains a viable group,” the Singapore Navy said in its advisory.

It reminded shipping operators that the militants could use smaller vessels such as dinghies and speedboats to attack oil tankers and urged them to take precautions.

Pirates and robbers have also used small fishing vessels to board ships during previous attacks in the Malacca Straits, it noted.

Security analysts have said that the Malacca Straits, bordered by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, is a prime target because more than 30% of global trade and half the world’s oil shipments pass through the narrow waterway.

“If the Singapore Navy is providing this information, it should be taken very seriously,” said John Harrison, a maritime security expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

He said that on the threat level scale, an “indication” is lower than a “warning”, but precautions should still be taken.

A “warning” refers to a credible threat that an attack is likely to be carried out against a target over a specific time frame, while an “indication” is gathered from a series of suspicious activities in a certain area.

“Certainly, we do know that there has been a long-term concern about terrorism in the Malacca Straits but the threat level remains fairly low,” Harrison told AFP.

“That said, it was very prudent for the Singapore Navy to pass this warning along because it keeps the threat level where it is.”

While the Singapore Navy did not name any group, Harrison said the South-East Asia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group or al-Qaeda itself could not be ruled out.

“JI could certainly be one of the groups. We have not seen any public evidence indicating they have the capability to operate but that does not mean they are not developing them,” he said.

In its advisory, the Singapore Navy recommended that ships should “strengthen their onboard security measures and to adopt community reporting to increase awareness and strengthen the safety of all seafarers,” according to the shipping association.

Singapore, one of Asia’s most affluent cities and a regional base for thousands of multinational companies, is a prime target for attacks by militant groups, officials have said.

One of the plots foiled by Singapore authorities was a plan by Islamic militants to hijack an airliner in Bangkok and crash it into Changi airport in 2001 following the September 11 attacks that year in the United States.

Singapore has also arrested several militants involved in a plot to bomb the US embassy and other targets in the city-state.

Source: The Star

China offers help on straits security

Chinese President Hu Jintao has reiterated his country’s long-held desire to help with the security of one of the world’s most important waterways — the Straits of Malacca.

China would like to work with Singapore, which is one of the littoral states of the sea lane, to “ensure the safety of the Straits of Malacca”, he told Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during their meeting, Chinese delegation spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said at a media briefing.

The protection of the critical waterway was one of several security-related areas which China would like to cooperate with Singapore on, said Ma. The rest include counter-terrorism and maritime search and rescue.

The Malacca Straits has become a major concern in recent years for China as the growing regional power broadens its search for energy resources to feed a buzzing economy.

With more than 60 per cent of China’s crude oil imports passing through the straits on their way from the Middle East, the narrow and congested waterway is becoming increasingly important strategically to Beijing.

The Chinese government fears rival powers may starve it of its energy resources by controlling the strait in the event of a security crisis.

State-run China Youth Daily went as far as to argue in 2004 that “it is no exaggeration to say that whoever controls the Straits of Malacca will also have a stranglehold on the energy route of China”.

Hu himself had said in 2003 that “certain major powers” were bent on controlling the waterway.

Other powers such as the United States, Japan and India have also offered to help in the security of the Malacca Straits, but littoral states Malaysia and Indonesia have rejected the idea of external countries stationing military forces permanently in the waterway.

Besides defence cooperation, Hu listed five other areas in which Singapore and China could work together, including economic tie-ups, cultural exchanges and international cooperation at forums like Apec.

A channel which must be maintained, said Hu, is the high-level exchanges between the countries’ leaders. He called it a “key feature” of Sino-Singapore relations and the foundation for strong bilateral relations. His three-day state visit here ends today.

Ma also said Hu called for the expansion of cultural exchanges such as the tie-up between the upcoming Singapore University of Technology and Design and Zhejiang University and the setting up of the China Cultural Centre here.

But the big news of the day, noted Ma, was the sending of two pandas from China to Singapore, which Hu announced on Wednesday.

Ma said: “This is happy news and also a highlight of this trip... I saw that the panda announcement was front-page news in Singapore newspapers.

“I can see the response from the Singapore people has been tremendous. This is very significant to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries.”

Source: Malaysian Insider

Sea piracy hits five-year high in waters near Singapore

The waters in and around Singapore have become more dangerous for ships this year. Piracy hit a five-year high in the South China Sea, with 10 reports of sea attacks reported there so far this year, surpassing the previous record of nine in 2005.

Sea robbers have also been active in the Strait of Malacca and Strait of Singapore. Pirates have boarded ships on five occasions so far this year and made an attempted boarding once.

Over the same period in these two waterways last year, pirates pulled off only one attack and made three attempts.

The figures come from the ReCAAP Information-Sharing Centre, which noted that the worst-hit vessels have been oil tankers and large container ships.

ReCAAP stands for Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia.

Lee Yin Mui, ReCAAP’s assistant director of research, added that bandits often hijack and take hostages on board the more vulnerable and slow-moving tugboats.

In the 10 incidents in the South China Sea, pirates boarded the ship nine times and made one attempted boarding.

In the most recent attack, six pirates armed with knives and machetes boarded the Singapore-registered liquified petroleum gas tanker Prospect off Anambas Island in the South China Sea early on Saturday.

They clubbed the duty officer on the head and escaped with cash, cellphones and laptop computers.

Apart from the officer, who was bruised, the other members of the 20-strong crew — Indian nationals and Filipinos — were unhurt.

Lee told The Straits Times that the surge in such attacks in the South China Sea and neighbouring waterways was ‘disconcerting’ because it laid waste to the impression that piracy is on the decline in Asian waters.

The latest figures from ReCAAP indicate that the number of reported cases has fallen over the last five years, from 148 in 2005 to 96 last year.

Between January and last month, the anti-piracy centre received 57 reports of sea attacks or robberies in Asia.

The situation in this part of the world is still a far cry from the escalating violence in the Gulf of Aden.

The London-based International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur has logged 156 attacks there so far this year.

But Lee, 48, a former army officer, noted that the buccaneers striking in Asia were not driven by bloodlust. They mostly wanted cash, ropes and spare parts from vessels, she said.

She cautioned, however, that although the economy seemed to be on the mend, pirates or sea robbers would still be on the lookout for vulnerable vessels.

“If shippers let their guard down, they will just be encouraging pirates to strike.”

For its part, ReCAAP is already in talks with the governments of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to keep them updated regarding the surge in attacks.

The navies of these four countries, which form the Malacca Strait Patrol, will be beefing up their watch over their waters.

ReCAAP, formed by 15 nations — including the above four and China, Japan, South Korea, Norway and India — will also streamline its reporting and strengthen its information-sharing capabilities.

This will ensure that member countries can quickly despatch their navy or Police Coast Guards to break up sea conflicts.

Joshua Ho, a senior fellow at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said countries bordering the South China Sea should also consider forming a patrol group similar to the Malacca Strait Patrol.

They include Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore, among others. These countries now limit their patrols to approved maritime boundaries.

Ho said: “Some sort of joint effort is feasible and the security presence would make pirates think twice before striking.”

Source: MalaysianInsider

Straits safety not just littoral states' burden

There is a dire need for the international shipping community to ensure sustainable development of the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, writes H.M. IBRAHIM

"CARRYING capacity" refers to the number of individuals that can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits and without degrading the natural, social, cultural and economic environment for the present and future generations. Simply put: there is a limit to the number of eggs that a basket can carry without breaking the basket or dropping the eggs.

This basic concept of "carrying capacity" can be applied to all situations: the passenger capacity of a bus or an aircraft, cars on a highway or a roomful of people; indeed, in tourism, ecology and all other situations. The greatest danger when a system exceeds its carrying capacity is irreparable damage, impairing the system's ability to heal itself. This is well-accepted science in ecology, conservation and any natural system.

Between 1978 and 2003, there were 888 accidents in the Straits of Malacca. Fortunately, only a few were major accidents that damaged the environment, depositing oil sludge on tourist beaches, destroying the fishing nets and livelihood of fishermen, and reducing the fish supply to the population centres of the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

These accidents included the MV Showa Maru in 1975, Nagasaki Spirit and Ocean Blessing in 1992, the Evoikos and Global Oripin in 1997, the MV Sun Vista and Natuna Sea, causing a total of 392,000 barrels of crude and fuel oil to be discharged into the straits.

The Straits of Malacca, connecting the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean, is the shortest sea route between India and China and one of the oldest and busiest shipping lanes in the world.

The alternative route, through the Lombok and Makassar Straits, is 1,000 nautical miles longer and takes a modern ship an extra three days to traverse, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars more to costs. For this reason, the straits carries more than 50 per cent of the world's trade and 30 per cent of worldwide shipments of oil and gas.

The vessel traffic in the straits increased from 43,965 in 1999 to 70,718 last year (see table) -- a 60.85 per cent increase. More than 60 per cent of these ships transported hazardous and noxious cargo. Through the efforts of the littoral states to enhance navigational safety in straits, with the support of Japan and in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation, there has been a marked decrease in the number of maritime accidents.

Utilising innovations such as the Vessel Traffic System (VTS), Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) and mandatory ship reporting system (STRAITREP), shipping accidents decreased from 63 in 2001 to 23 last year.

However, traffic in the straits is expected to increase to more than 100,000 vessels by 2010 and 141,000 by 2020 (not counting cross-straits traffic). There may well be a "tipping point", beyond which any further increase would be too costly and hazardous.

In short, there is a limit to the carrying capacity of the straits -- at least, if current conditions are projected into the future. Congestion may even become self-limiting, in that increased accidents will cause insurance rates to rise and deter some traffic, or congestion may reach a point where it is safer, cheaper and faster to bypass the straits.

The Straits of Malacca is in one of the world's recognised "mega biodiversity" regions. To ensure the sustainable development of these resources, the government has formulated various policies on biodiversity, environment, fisheries and other natural resources related to the land and sea areas of the nation, entrusting the relevant departments to enforce the attendant regulations.

The establishment of the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (the equivalent of a Coast Guard) is another example of Malaysia's commitment to ensure safety and security in this important Sea Lane of Communication (Sloc).

More than half the vessels using the straits do not call at any littoral state's ports, and thus these ports receive no direct benefit from their passage. Yet they have borne the brunt of the burden of maintaining the safety of navigation and protecting the environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently revealed that the nation spent more than RM200 million on providing and maintaining various aids to navigation in the straits, as part of Malaysia's commitment to ensuring the safety, security and environmental protection of the straits.

The littoral states bear the costs and risk, while users reap the benefits of transit passage. In addition to the accidental risks, operational discharge from ships and actions by some unscrupulous ship masters in dumping sludge and solid waste further aggravate the situation.

As a responsible member of the international community, Malaysia takes the comprehensive and functional management of the Straits of Malacca very seriously. The carrying capacity of the straits must therefore be determined, to ensure the waterway continues to play its important role as a Sea Lane of Communication, provider of natural resources for the prosperity of the littoral states, and a mega biodiversity region.

Dialogue on these matters may at least educate littoral states and users alike on ways and means to cooperate. The Centre for the Straits of Malacca of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia is able and willing to offer such a forum and follow-up research.

---

Prof Dr Capt H.M. Ibrahim is director of research at the Maritime Institute of Malaysia

Source: NST Online

Malaysia suggests curb on ships in Straits of Malacca

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 Malaysia today proposed limiting the number of vessels that can enter one of the world"s busiest shipping lanes amid worries that rising congestion could spark accidents.

More than 70,000 vessels passed through the Malacca Straits last year travelling from Europe and the Middle East to East Asia, a sharp increase from about 44,000 in 1999, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

.
The narrow waterway is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore and is used by vessels carrying half the world's oil and more than a third of its commerce.

-Malaysia believes there is an ultimate tipping point for maritime transit in the straits, beyond which further increases would become not only risky but also too dangerous and costly," Najib said while launching a Malaysian maritime research institute.

Najib said some researchers estimate that 120,000 vessels might use the Malacca Straits annually by 2015 if curbs are not introduced.

Malaysia will discuss the issue with Indonesia and Singapore, he said.

It was not immediately clear how any restrictions might be enforced.

Najib said security in the straits has improved significantly in recent years because of anti-piracy patrols conducted by the three neighbouring countries. There have been no pirate attacks so far this year, compared to 75 in 2000, Najib said.

Source: The Malaysian Insider (from AP)