Japan is dependent on foreign countries for the bulk of its foodstuffs and energy resources
In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, about 10 vessels operated by a German shipping company in an alliance with NYK Group canceled port calls at Tokyo and Yokohama on orders from the head office.
The Liberian government issued a similar advisory for domestically registered ships. In both cases, the justification given was the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 quake and tsunami.
“If they had been Japanese ships operated by Japanese shipping companies, they would have engaged in communication with the government, and a situation like this where port calls were called off due to inaccurate information would probably never have happened,” says a transport ministry official.
The Japanese government used channels such as foreign embassies to declare that Tokyo and Yokohama were safe and the Liberian government immediately lifted the warning, so there was no actual harm done. Even so, it was another month before the German shipping company resumed calls at those ports.
NYK Group’s fleet has decreased annually since it peaked at 1,580 vessels in 1972, and in 2004 it dropped below 100 ships. The number of Japanese crew members on ocean-going ships in the 1970s was approximately 57,000, but today there are only 2,300, which only accounts for 5 percent of seamen on Japanese commercial vessels. Due to the rise of the yen after the Plaza Accord was signed in 1985, shipping companies drastically reduced their costly Japanese personnel, and Japanese ships also became fewer. Currently, it is not uncommon for a ship’s crew, including the captain, to be entirely comprised of foreigners.
Japan is dependent on foreign countries for the bulk of its foodstuffs and energy resources. The proportion of sea-locked Japan’s trade (on a weight basis) involving marine transport has risen to 99.7. It is a lifeline that supports the lives of the Japanese people and their economy in times of need.
Nevertheless, this situation in which Japan is reliant on foreign ships and crews to such an extent must be problematic from a national security standpoint. Sensing the danger that it represents, the Japanese government came up with a plan to double the number of Japanese ships over five years from 2009, and increase the number of Japanese seamen by 150 percent over 10 years. Its first act was the introduction of a tonnage tax scheme for Japanese ships. The aim was to encourage Japanese shipping companies to switch from operating foreign-registered vessels from Panama, Liberia and elsewhere to Japanese ones.
Steps were also taken to make the application process more convenient. Staff who could carry out ship inspections were stationed at the Japanese Embassy in Singapore, making it possible for ships moored at port to change the country in which they are registered to Japan. In contrast to a newly built vessel, taking an existing ship out of operation to undergo such a procedure can incur a huge loss. For shipping companies, it is much more favorable to be able to go through the application process while a vessel is in service.
Ships that switch nationalities in Singapore also change the flag that they fly, and the port name on the stern is repainted to say Tokyo, Kobe, or some other Japanese harbor before they set sail for their next stopover.
Thanks to measures such as these, the number of Japan-registered vessels rose from 98 in 2008 to 119 in 2010, a 21-ship increase. Registering ships in developing countries has considerable merits such as lower taxes, but the Japanese shipping industry is also harboring concerns over the sheer scarcity of Japan-registered ships.
Furthermore, the Japanese government has introduced a law that enables it to order operators of Japanese vessels to proceed with international marine transport in times of crisis at home and abroad such as accidents, natural disasters, terrorism and security concerns. However, the government’s stance is that these emergency situations do not include possible “contingencies” such as military attacks on Japan or neighboring regions. The main objective of its move to increase the number of Japan-registered ships was to reinforce the country’s economic security, so a consensus has yet to be reached as to how much responsibility can be placed on privately owned vessels in the event of such a contingency.
In the United States, there is a system where in return for paying subsidies to domestically registered vessels, they can be requisitioned in emergency situations. This positions privately owned U.S. ships at the center of national security strategy.
“Many countries throughout the world view maritime power as a cornerstone of national security for obtaining food and energy resources,” states professor Keiji Habara of Kansai University’s Faculty of Policy Studies. “The risks facing shipping right now such as piracy, environmental conservation on a world scale, and speculative risks threatening food and resources are become more extensive and complicated, and the trade ministry, the transport ministry and the Defense Ministry can’t take compartmentalized approaches in dealing with them.”
Source: Asahi.com