TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt to focus on small vessels’ security to prevent more hijackings
Change Size
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi speaks to journalists at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta. (Tempo/-)
I
ndonesia has prioritized strengthening security for tugboats and barges exporting coal across regional waters and is considering deploying a sea marshal to protect deliveries as well as to prevent further hijackings in the future.
As much as 15 percent of coal deliveries from Indonesia to neighboring countries use small vessels such as tugboats and barges, as several destination ports cannot accommodate bigger vessels. However, small vessels are more prone to hijacking, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Thursday.
Hence, the government is currently analyzing the guidelines of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on the deployment of sea marshals to guard vessels delivering goods across borders, she said, to make it possible for the 15 percent to be assisted by security personnel.
“Hostage-taking cases always happen to tugboats and barges and thus we have made them a priority to ensure that kidnappings will not happen anymore and exports can be delivered safely,” Retno said on Thursday.
Aside from deploying a sea marshal, the government has also deepened talks about sea corridors to determine the safest routes for vessels to travel through regional waters.
The officials will coordinate with related stakeholders, including the Transportation Ministry, Indonesia National Shipowners Association (INSA) and the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APB) to urge sailors to be disciplined in taking safe sea routes, she added.
The importance of strengthening security became apparent following the fourth recent abduction incident involving Indonesian sailors, in which three people were taken hostage in Malaysia’s Sabah waters in early July, less than a month since the kidnapping of seven Indonesian crew by militant groups in Philippine waters. (rin)
