Project Setting
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore
About 90% of world trade, in tonnage terms, is transported by ships and will remain so for many years. Economic development in many parts for the world such as the Asia-Pacific region will exert tremendous pressures on the maritime industry, especially on future energy demands. Such pressures will have a bearing n the aging fleet of the maritime industry and the ban on single hulled tankers, burgeoning coastal populations, and the need to address marine pollution from land and ship-based sources.
Hence, a shift in policy and strategy will be required to improve shipping operations including the adoption of new technologies and management systems to enhance navigational safety and minimize pollution risk but also ensure better commercial performance. It also requires a coherent monitoring and response programme within a multisectoral setting as marine pollution has transboundary implications in addition to social, legal and economic dimensions. This is particularly important in highly congested and confined sea lanes with high biodiversity such as the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore together form the main seaway connecting the Indian Ocean (via the Andaman Sea) with the South China Sea. The Straits, as it is also known and situated between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsular, are approximately 1,000 kilometres long, 300 kilometres wide at the north-west entrance, and just 12 kilometres at the south-east entrance. Despite their difficult navigational features and a high level of local traffic engaged in barter trade and fishing, the Straits are the shortest and hence the preferred shipping route between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and for oil tankers trading between the Persian Gulf areas and the East Asian countries. This is due to the presence of services, active ports, and the fact that the two alternative routes (i.e., Lombok-Makassar Strait and Sunda Strait) will add considerable time to the length of voyage.
The common concerns of the littoral States (i.e., Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) bordering the Straits of Malacca and Singapore are the risk of accidents involving ships and oil pollution arising from discharges during routine passage of ships and spills due to ship mishaps, particularly oil tankers. Operational activities such as deballasting (introduction of invasive marine species), tank cleaning and dumping of bilge water and sludge add to marine pollution problems in the Straits. The littoral States have limited capability to track ship movements, to monitor activities and to enforce compliance with international rules and this result in illegal dumping of wastes from vessels.
