In its weekly report for 19-25 November, ReCAAP ISC informed of three incidents of armed robbery against ship in Asia. One was CAT 3 and two were CAT 4 incidents. Two of them occurred to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait, which has been at the center of maritime security warnings in recent months.
Following the recent developments that a ban on nickel ore exports from Indonesia would commence on the 1st of January 2020, Indonesian authorities gave the green light to a specific number of nickel ore exporters to trade, after ensuring that they were in compliance with the country’s export rules to resume nickel ore shipments.
During September, the Indonesian Directorate General of Disease Prevention of Ministry of Health informed that it is compulsory for all Health Offices at Indonesian sea and air ports to make sure that everyone arriving from the Philippines has had a polio vaccination.
According to the IMO, marine biodiversity is in danger of invasive aquatic species (IAS), which harm the world’s freshwater, coastal and marine’s native ecosystems, a challenge that led to the launch of GloFouling Partnerships project; Thus, taking part in the project, Indonesia and Mexico have formed their national task force.
The Indonesian government announced on Friday, August 30th 2019 that a ban on nickel ore exports would come into effect on the 1st of January 2020; two years prior to its planned date, causing an immediate spike in its price. Even though this retreated as the market took a more measured view of the nickel outlook, there is little doubt that in the years to come the ban will have significant implications for NPI supply.
A preliminary trade deal equivalent to a free trade agreement has been agreed between Indonesia and South Korea. The agreement establishing broader economic cooperation is aiming to boost the trade between the two countries by almost 50% by 2022. The move which comes after a five-year break from negotiations between the two countries, is part of South Korea’s on-going efforts to expand exports in the area.
Vessels continue to be detained by Indonesian authorities while at anchor in waters around the island of Bintan. The ships believed that they had anchored at OPL Singapore, but had in fact anchored within Indonesian territorial waters. Earlier in the year, North Clun had informed that an increasing number of vessels are being detained by Indonesian authorities while at anchor in the waters around the island of Bintan.
ICC’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reports 119 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships for 2019, in comparison to the 156 incidents that were reported in the same period in 2018, with the Gulf of Guinea remaining a high risk area for piracy and armed robbery.
Greenpeace Indonesia accuses Pentamina, state-owned oil major, that an oil spill from an oil well off West Java has polluted miles of beachfront and has disrupted traditional fisheries and calls the oil company to provide more information about the oil spill response and the safety measures taken on the nearby offshore facilities.
A mooring assistance boat that belonged to Indonesian state oil company, Pertamina, capsized and sank on September 10, Tuesday, due to bad weather conditions off the coast of Belawan, North Sumatra.
