Singapore is taking over the rotational chairmanship of the Revolving Fund Committee, from Malaysia. The fund was set up by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Malacca Strait Council to ensure that Straits of Malacca and Singapore waterways remain safe and clean.
The Revolving Fund Committee (RFC) was established on 11 February 1981 through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Malacca Strait Council (MSC) to combat oil pollution in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS).
The MSC contributed 400 million yen as the principal sum of the Revolving Fund.
Serving as an effective mechanism for international co-operation in the maintenance of the Straits, Malaysia, Indonesia, or Singapore can draw cash advance from the Fund for use in combating oil pollution caused by ships.
The amount drawn will be repaid to the Fund when the State recovers the clean-up costs from the parties responsible.
Singapore to manage the Revolving Fund from April 2022 to March 2027
Under the MOU, each littoral State of the SOMS will manage the Fund on a rotational basis for a period of five years each. Singapore has taken over the chairmanship of the RFC from April 2022 and will manage the Revolving Fund until March 2027.
In his opening address, Teo Eng Dih highlighted that the SOMS are among the busiest and most critical waterways in the world, with some 120,000 vessels using the Straits each year. It is therefore in the vital interest of the littoral States and the international community that the Straits are kept safe and clean:
As world trade continues to expand and shipping traffic increases, the responsibility of maintaining safety and preserving the marine environment in the Straits will grow in tandem. The Revolving Fund is a good example of cooperation between the littoral States and the users of the Straits to safeguard the marine environment
