Malaysia seeking to share cost of maintaining Straits

MALAYSIA has called for the burden of maintaining the Straits of Malacca to be shared by all users, not just the littoral states. The Straits, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, requires more than $27 million a year to maintain and currently the cost is shared by the littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said he will bring up Malaysia’s view at a maritime meeting to be held next week. At a recent two-day maritime conference in Kuala Lumpur, Chan also said that Asia wants to be in the forefront in formulating international maritime regulations. “We are no longer content to sit on the fringes or the sidelines and watch idly as strong and new regimes affecting the maritime industry are being initiated, enforced or implemented,” he said.

Asian shipowners make up about 40-50 % of the world’s shipping industry. Malaysian Shipowners Association (MASA) chairman Nordin Mat Yusoff echoed Chan’s sentiments. We need to have a voice. Our voice is not being heard at all and the regulations all come from the European Union; for example, they set up the standard, they set up the rules and regulations, and all of us in Asia have to follow it,” Nordin said.

The need to be heard has brought about the formation of Asia’s own platform, which sees MASA, the Federation of Asian Shipowners Association and the Asia Shipowners Forum working together to make itself heard in the IMO.