Project Development, Objectives and Phases
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore, situated between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, are approximately 1,000 kilometers long, 300 kilometers wide at their north-west entrance, and just 12 kilometers wide at their south-east entrance, between Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago. The Straits are shallow, with narrow channels, irregular tides and shifting bottom topography, and hence are hazardous to navigation for large ships. The Straits are also rich in natural resources on which many of the coastal inhabitants depend.
Despite their difficult navigational features, 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 and the fast-growing countries of East Asia. Over 200 very large crude carriers and container ships pass through the Straits each day, and traffic is growing by 10 percent per year. There is also much cross-Strait traffic which cuts through the major shipping lanes.
Navigational Safety in the Straits
Recent enhancements in maritime safety infrastructure and regulatory mechanisms have improved navigational safety and traffic flow. Singapore has an efficient radar-based ship position monitoring system covering the Singapore Strait. In 1998, the three littoral states of Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Republic of Singapore jointly commissioned a mandatory ship reporting system (STRAITREP) for the most congested 300 kilometer section of the Straits from One Fathom Bank to the Singapore Strait, which combines radar and automatic ship identification and tracking.
These improvements to navigational aids and facilities have reduced the frequency of ship collisions, groundings and oil spills. However, several vessel collisions and groundings occurred in recent years like the containership ANL Indonesia collision with a Singapore Naval vessel in January 2003 and Panamanian-registered MV California collision with a RO Korean vessel, MV Sinokor Seoul on 24 March 2006. Some of these incidents caused significant oil spills, such as those involving the ‘Natuna Sea’ (October 2000) and the ‘Singapora Timur’ (May 2001). Total compensation claims for the ‘Natuna Sea’ accident were over US$127 million. A recent economic valuation of the natural resources at risk in the Malacca Straits estimated them at U$5 billion and identified more than 50 species of marine coral and fish on the endangered species list. So, despite the improved navigation system, the threat of collisions and groundings and of consequent environmental damage is still significant and, with rapid traffic growth, is increasing.
Oil Spill Response in the Straits
The three littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have oil spill response capabilities and oil spill contingency plans, including a cooperative response agreement. However, the several recent serious shipping accidents highlighted the need for an improved ship management system, for quicker and more accurate deployment of spill response equipment and manpower, and for more efficient institutional arrangements for dealing with oil spills. In addition to more rapid response, immediate access to information on spill location and track and the environmental resources at risk are also needed if the impact of any spill is to be minimized. Better communication is the key to more effective oil spill response, but a more effective ship monitoring and control system is required to prevent major incidents, including timely detection of spill events as well as to serve as early warning of their potential environmental damage and where such damage will occur.
Advances in Digital Navigation
Recent advances in marine navigation, communications and environmental impact assessment/prediction technologies offer an opportunity to upgrade existing systems to further reduce the risk of ship accidents in the Straits and the environmental damage they cause. By providing mariners with very accurate, real-time navigational information (e.g., depth, tide, and location of navigational hazards like sand bars) the new technologies could also reduce shipping costs by permitting safe and secure navigation in poor weather and optimal loading and may even reduce marine insurance costs.
Given the technological advances in communication and information systems, an integrated and innovative approach to maritime shipping is the “Marine Electronic Highway” (MEH). First installed in Canada’s St. Lawrence River in the early 1990s, a MEH combines an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), an Automated Identification System (AIS), shore-based marine information databases and advanced ship-to-shore communications. The ECDIS uses of the Electronic Navigation Charts and obviates the use of traditional paper charts as one of the ship operator’s primary navigation tools. Unlike the static and one-layer paper chart, it is possible to show in ECDIS-ENC the ship’s exact location, plus real-time data on water depth, tidal flow and navigational risks. On the other hand, the AIS can receive and give precise information on ship location, direction and speed, which can help ship controllers avert collisions or groundings.
The MEH system with its environmental modules can be used in marine pollution response and control such as to predict the direction and speed of oil spill and aid in response and clean-up. It is also possible to use it to identify and track ships that illegally discharge their bilges or dump other oily wastes. The foundation for this technology already exists in the Straits and the littoral states are committed to its installation, however the cost to them of developing and operating it, and the uncertainty of whether they can recover those costs, has deterred them from making the investment. An external catalyst is needed to bring about the new institutional arrangements between national governments, the International Maritime Organization and the ship operators that are needed to make the system work.
