Damaged S Kalimantan coral reefs cover 530 ha

Antara News, Monday, November 30, 2009 20:51 WIB

Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Of 13,330 hectares of coral reefs in South Kalimantan, some 530 hectares have been damaged by sedimentation and pollution.

Based on a study conducted by the South Kalimantan environmental agency and the provincial fishery and maritime service, most of the damaged coral reefs were covered by coal, Rakhmadi Kurdi, head of the South Kalimantan environmental agency said here on Monday.

"The Bunati coral reef area is currently in poor condition as many of the corals have died due to sedimentation and coal," he said.

Apart from Bunati, coral reefs in Batulicin and Tanah Laut coastal areas were also damaged or died, he said.

Almost all rivers in South Kalimantan experienced sedimentation and the muds later went into th sea, he said.

About the pollution caused by coal, he explained that companies usually washed their barges carrying coal in beaches.

"Therefore, I have asked concerned district authorities to ban washing barges in sea because it is violation of the law," he said.

Another factor which caused coral damages in the province was stealing of corals by villagers who later sold the corals.

In Indonesia, the death-rate of coral reefs is fairly high among other things because of human activity to bomb the fish. A report said that the damage and the death of coral reefs reach 40-45% from the coral reefs area of 1.5 million hectare.

One giant leap for ocean exploration... what the world's first 'space station of the sea' will look like

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 12:26 AM on 29th November 2009

Out of this world: This is what the SeaOrbiter will look like - its inventor wants it to be a space station of the sea

It looks more like the Starship Enterprise sinking in the sea - but this huge vertical vessel could be the future of ocean exploration.

Called the SeaOrbiter, the huge 51m (167ft) structure is set to be the world's first vertical ship allowing man a revolutionary view of life below the surface.

Although currently only a prototype its inventor Jacques Rougerie thinks his international oceanographic station will soon be setting sail.

Mr Rougerie wants the ship to be a space station for the sea giving scientists an insight into the little-known world under the sea.

'At the moment, they [oceanographers] can dive only for short periods before they have to be brought back to the surface. It is as though they were taken to study the Amazon jungle and then helicoptered away again after an hour,' Mr Rougerie told The Times.

'SeaOrbiter will provide a permanent mobile presence with a window to what is under the surface of the sea.”

The architect, whose home and office are houseboats, wants to launch half a dozen of the vessels.

At the moment he says he has half the €35million (£32million) that it will cost to build the first one, and is confident of finding the rest.

The SeaOrbiter would also be a useful tool for studying the link between global warming and the oceans.

Mr Rougerie, 64, said: 'It’s only in the last 50 years that we have found out that there are seasons under water, with plants flowering, with deserts, forests and an intense life.

'The food and medicines of the future will come from the ocean. We’re now starting to realise that oceans have a major role in the fragile equilibrium of our planet.'

When it does first set sail, there will be six crew members, six scientists and six more people on board - these may be astronauts training in extreme conditions or doctors studying submarine human behaviour.

The SeaOrbiter will drift silently across the ocean - navigation tools, communications equipment and a lookout deck will rise above the surface of the sea.

Under the water level, there will be a pressurised deck for divers to undertake daily missions over a period of months.

'There will be a gym, because it’s very important to practise sport, entertainment with a video player above each bunk, and nice food. I’ll do the cooking myself and I’m a good cook,' Mr Rougerie added.

The future? How the SeaOrbiter might look exploring the sea

The ship's anti-collision system is based on the one used by the international space station.

Mr Rougerie is confident that the ship will be built. 'A year ago, it was 50-50,' he said. 'Now I would say it’s 90 per cent certain.'

The project was mentioned by President Sarkozy in a keynote speech this summer and has won the backing of companies such as DCNS, the shipbuilder, and Thalès, the defence electronics group.

2 stranded whales near death on Bali beach

Google/AP

In this photo taken Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, Balinese children attempt to rescue one of two beached whales, a rare occurrence on Tabanan beach in Bali, Indonesia. Two young whales are stranded on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and will die on the beach because they are too weak to survive even if returned to the water, an official said Sunday. (AP Photo/STR)

BALI, Indonesia — Two young whales are stranded on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and will die on the beach because they are too weak to survive even if returned to the water, an official said Sunday.

Attempts to rescue the beached whales, a rare occurrence on Bali, have been abandoned, said Bali's Fisheries and Marines Department officer Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa.

"They are in critical condition now," he said.

The two short-finned pilot whales, a protected species, were both extensively scratched and bruised, apparently from fishing nets at sea. Their carcasses will be buried before they decompose, Ariwangsa said.

The pair was among four whales that washed ashore Saturday near Tanah Lot Beach, one of the most popular and picturesque tourist destinations on the island province, Ariwangsa said.

Dozens of locals hauled all four of the 7-foot (2.1-meter), 1,000 pound (450 kilogram) whales into the shallow water. Fishing boats successfully led two back to sea, he said. But waves washed another two back to shore.

"Powerful tidal waves are believed to have separated them from their pod and left them stranded here," Ariwangsa said.

Live whales rarely become beached on Bali, although 10 dead whales — eight short-finned pilot and two giant sperm — washed ashore in February in stormy weather.

Locals butchered their carcasses for the oil, which they use as a traditional medicine.

Hungarian divers find 17th-century Dutch ship near Brazil

MTI

ANP

Budapest, November 27 (MTI) - A team of Hungarian marine archaeologists has found the wreckage of a Dutch cargo ship which sank near the Brazilian coast over three centuries ago.

Voetboog was a three-mast flyboat, which left the port of Batavia (now Jakarta) for The Netherlands with a 109-member crew on board, the expedition leader Attila K. Szaloky told MTI.

Owned by the Dutch East India Company, the Fluyt ship carried silk, spices, tea, Japanese and Chinese porcelain as well as nearly 180,000 pieces of Dutch golden ducats. The estimated value of the wreckage is about 1 billion dollars, he said.

Sailing on the Atlantic, the ship was probably caught by a storm and its only chance to get home was to stick close to the Brazilian coast. For reasons unknown, however, it sank near the coast of Pernambuco state on May 29, 1700.

The team of Octopus Association for Marine Archaeology found the wreckage in October 2008 but announced the discovery only after the first phase of examinations came to an end. The objects found in the depths suggest that it is indeed the wreckage of Voetboog which is lying on the seabed under several metres thick of sediment. Over the past 309 years, the ship has virtually disintegrated, Szaloky said.

The finds will be brought to surface and conserved in line with Brazilian law.

VOC Route (source: Batavia Werf)

Lampung prepares groundwork to invite investors

Oyos Saroso H.N. , The Jakarta Post , Bandarlampung | Sat, 11/28/2009 1:07 PM

The Lampung provincial administration is formulating regulations in response to anticipated consequences from the construction of the Sunda Strait bridge (JSS) after the central government took over the endeavor as a national project.

The regulations, in the form of local ordinances, will focus on investment and development in Lampung with a view to protecting the community from any negative impacts resulting from the bridge's presence or operation.

"Without regulations, money would rapidly flow out of the province because people in Lampung could easily go to Jakarta to shop and spend their money. Also, industries that are very lax or not concerned with environmental safety could invest or move their operations to Lampung if adequate regulations were not in place," Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P. said.

Sjachroedin expressed hope the JSS, connecting the islands of Java and Sumatra, would be completed quickly.

"We don't want to be lose out to the bridge connecting Dumai in Riau with Malaysia," he said.

Sjachroedin said he was pleased by the central government's positive stance on the proposal - formed by the Lampung and Banten provincial administrations and governors from across Sumatra - to build the bridge.

"We are rather impatient because studies of a planned Java-Sumatra bridge have been conducted since the 1980s. Had the central government refused to assist, we *the Banten governor and governors from across Sumatra* would have built the JSS ourselves. We would have invited investors and managed it together with the Banten provincial administration," Sjachroedin said.

Prior to discussions at the national level, he added governors of eight provinces in Sumatra and the Banten governor had discussed the plan and the project's potentially huge benefits.

According to Sjachroedin, PT Artha Graha had conducted the project's feasibility studies.

"We invite the central government to conduct another study should they wish to do so," he said.

"The social disparity between Lampung and Banten provinces can certainly be reduced if the JSS project is realized," he added.

"The JSS, which is planned to have a height of 70 meters with a span of 30.4 meters, is designed to be able to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis. We are aware of the presence of the active Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait which is prone to eruption and could trigger a tsunami," Sjachroedin said.

The JSS project has also highlighted possible impacts on the Archipelagic Sea Lanes of Indonesia (ALKI), which organizes marine navigation. The deepest sea gap included in the ALKI is located between Sangiang and Prajurit islands spanning 3.5 kilometers. According to the JSS plan, two of the bridge's support pillars will be built on each island.

The cost of the JSS project is estimated at Rp 92 trillion (US$9.79 billion), which will be divided into two phases. The first phase, costing Rp 1.8 trillion, would cover the feasibility studies and engineering costs, while the second phase would be the construction, costing Rp 90.2 trillion. The project has an estimated time to completion period of between six and 10 years.

At the end of October, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa said Indonesia would prioritize the development of domestic infrastructure, including the completion of the JSS.

Hatta added that the government would look to develop local economies through the JSS project. He said the recent focus on the JSS project was also aimed at preventing commodities in Sumatra from being sent to Malaysia and to create better connections between Java and Sumatra.

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Princess of Whales

Kompas ,SATURDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2009 | 6:52 AM

A Diver's Magical Encounter with A Smiling Giant of The Arctic Deep

KOMPAS.com - Hitching a ride on a Beluga whale's back, a daring diver glides through the icy waters of the Arctic. In an extraordinarily rare encounter between a human and this beautiful giant of the deep, the white whale is perfectly at ease with her new companion - and even appears to be smiling.

Which is just as well - as no one really knew how the Beluga would react to human company before Julia Petrik made this dazzling dive. For these muscular 16ft whales can get agitated if subjected to unwanted contact and aggressively defend themselves.

Thankfully, this magnificent individual was only too happy to let Miss Petrik gently cling on to him and took her for a spin through the deep.

The incredible pictures were shot beneath the pack ice in Russia's White Sea, where a pod of the magnificent Belugas are being studied for a conservation programme.

Miss Petrik is an expert free diver and is able to hold her breath for minutes at a time. This avoids the need to use bulky scuba tanks, which release bubbles that can disorientate the whales.

The lack of kit also gives her more freedom to move and synchronise her movements with the whale. The only downside is that free diving in icy cold water takes a heavy toll on the diver's respiratory system.

Julia Petrik had to saw through more than a foot of solid ice just to reach the freezing water below and wears a thick rubber suit to guard against the extreme conditions.

Beluga whales - the name is Russian for 'the white one' - can survive here because they are able to use their powerful bulk to butt through the ice to breathe oxygen, before submerging once again into the abyss.

Their domed foreheads contain a waxy substance, thought to be involved in their ability to communicate.

White charger: The three-ton Beluga gives Julia a glorious ride into the depths

They 'chatter' by whistling to each other - so much so that sailors and fishermen call them the 'sea canaries'.

Divers can spend weeks searching for Belugas in the wild, but some of the whales are being kept in a large netted enclosure to be studied.

Due to its high salinity, the water here freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water and can drop to a bone-chilling minus 2c. But Julia Petrik, given the ride of her life by this giant of the deep, soon forgot about the cold and was having a whale of time.

Editor: jimbon, Source : The Daily Mail

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Indonesian navy gets new KR Banjarmasin warship

Antara News, Saturday, November 28, 2009 18:15 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Navy got new KRI Banjarmasin-592 warship manufactured by PT PAL, on November 28, 2009.

Surabaya-based PT PAL, Indonesia`s shipbuilding and maintenance company, symbolically handed over the news warship of a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) type, to the defense ministry, which later passed it on to the Indonesian Navy, at a military ceremony in Surabaya, on Saturday.

Among those present at the ceremony were Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) General Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Didik Heru Purnomo, and Naval Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Agus Suhartono.

The KRI Banjarmasin was one of two 125-meter LPD manufactured by PT PAL.

Commodore Iskandar Sitompul, a spokesman of the Indonesian Navy, said the KRI Banjarmasin was the third LPD joining the Navy. The two other LPDs were built by South Korea`s Daewoo International Corporation and received by the Indonesian Navy last year.

The latest LPD built by PT PAL was better equipped that the previous two others.

The KRI Banjarmasin-592 warship has capacity to carry five helicopters, while the previous LPDs only two helicopters. The speed has also been improved from 15 knot to 15.4 knot. PT PAL has manufactured more than 150 ships of various types since 1980.

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Expert Blasts Indonesia's Focus on Ocean Carbon

The Jakarta Globe, Fidelis E Satriastanti

The government should stop spending so much of its time focusing on potential ocean carbon trading schemes because the jury is still out on whether the country’s waters absorb or emit carbon, an expert in the field said on Thursday.

“There has been a huge misunderstanding in the public at large that our oceans can absorb CO2 [carbon dioxide]. Contrary to that claim, much research has shown that Indonesia’s waters release carbon dioxide” instead of absorbing it, said Alan Koropitan, an ocean expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB).

In May this year, former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi, that Indonesia’s oceans could absorb 66.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and coastal areas could absorb an additional 245.6 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

The statement drew sharp criticism from civil society groups, which accused the government of laying the groundwork to commercialize oceans and coastal areas for financial gain while neglecting the welfare of traditional fishermen.

Alan said while oceans do have the potential to absorb carbon dioxide, industrialization has rendered some unable to absorb the greenhouse gas, and those seas now release carbon dioxide into the air instead.

“In order to know whether oceans absorb or release carbon dioxide into the air we should consider the whole marine carbonate system, not just empirical methods, which should not be hastily implemented in Indonesia’s waters,” he said

The marine carbonate system is the system by which carbon passes from the atmosphere to the biosphere and oceans, and back again.

According to Alan, Indonesia’s waters have become a source of carbon dioxide rather than a storage resource because their temperature is much hotter than that of southern oceans.

“Much research has proven that southern oceans, which are subtropical, are a carbon sink because their temperature is cooler, while our water areas are tropical,” Alan said.

“So, it is very dangerous to claim that our oceans could absorb millions of tons of carbon dioxide annually,” he said.

Alan added that scientists were still debating whether oceans were able to sequester carbon dioxide and store it like growing forests do.

“The government should not have brought up the idea before scientists reached agreement on the issue. They should just focus on how to deal with rising sea levels and changes in weather patterns as a result of global warming,” he said.

Illegal fishing agreement to push pirates out of ports

WWF, 27 November 2009

A new international agreement to better control vessels in the world’s ports will cut off access to global markets for pirate fishers.

Rome, Italy – A new international agreement to better control vessels in the world’s ports will cut off access to global markets for pirate fishers, responsible for fueling overfishing and the illegal seafood trade.

This week, states participating in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) adopted an agreement on port control of vessels engaged in fishing and fish trade, which will greatly reduce illegal fishing.

The new Binding International Agreement on Port State Control Measures to Combat, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (Port State Agreement) sets minimum standards for what every port state must do to prevent illegally caught fish from being offloaded and reaching global markets.

WWF applauds the FAO for ensuring that the Port State Agreement was successfully developed and adopted, and commends progressive member states such as Norway for encouraging the negotiation process for the past two years.

“The oceans are not a ‘free-for-all.’ This landmark agreement makes clear the responsibility of states to keep illegal fish from entering their ports;” said Miguel A. Jorge Director Marine Program at WWF International. “States serious about stamping out pirate fishing and preventing illegally caught seafood from reaching our dinner plates will sign on to this agreement quickly.”

The Port State Agreement was opened for signature on Nov. 23 during the FAO Annual Conference in Rome. Currently, 11 states including the European Union, Chile, Indonesia, Norway and the United States have signed the new treaty, an important first step to become a party to the agreement. In order to enter into force, 25 states need to become parties to the Port State Agreement.

Illegal fishing is one of the largest causes of overfishing and threatens the livelihoods of legitimate fishers and coastal communities. Current estimated value of financial losses because of illegal fishing worldwide is estimated at USD 10 billion to USD 23 billion annually.

Canal Evictions in North Jakarta Show Fishing Community Crisis

The Jakarta Globe, Fidelis E Satriastanti

To ask a fisherman to stay away from the sea is to ask the unthinkable. At least that is what a 26-year-old wife of a fisherman thinks.

“Can you force those who have been working on dry land all of their lives to earn a living by going out to sea every day? Have you ever heard of a fisherman living in a building, far from the sea?” said Risma, who knows of the hardships of being a fisherman’s wife.

Passengers on a small ferry negotiating their way between two large vessels. Each passenger pays Rp 1,000 (11 cents) to cross from Muara Baru fishing village to Sunda Kelapa, both in North Jakarta. (Photo: Afriadi Hikmal, JG)

Her family, one of 150 in the Marunda Kepu village of Cilincing in North Jakarta, is now, more than ever, struggling to make ends meet because they have been forced from land that will be used to develop the long-awaited East Flood Canal.

The fishing communities understand the importance of the canal — scheduled to be up and running by Dec. 31 — in reducing the impact of flooding in the capital, but have stressed that the local administration should have considered the negative effect on their lives before evicting them.

Tiarom, 33, emphasized that he is not against development.

“I just hope the government gives some thought to us fishermen. Give us access to fish. Don’t just scare us off,” he said.

Tiarom, whose family has been fishing for generations, said the administration had offered the community low-cost apartments in the area.

“We’d be better off living in our boats rather than living in a building. Fishermen need to spread their nets. We need space for that. There is no way that fishermen can survive living in buildings like that,” he said, adding that 70 percent of people living in Marunda fished in nearby ponds and the sea.

Slamet Daryoni, chief of urban environmental education at the Indonesian Green Institute, said the local administration should have been more communicative and provided fishermen with better alternatives.

“The problem is that these fishermen were never involved in discussions [about the project]. You can’t just change their lifestyles and hope they can adapt within a few months,” Slamet said. “They have been fishermen all their lives. This is what they know and do.”

“It is very obvious the government is trying to isolate them, as if they don’t exist.”

He said the affected villages were located in the middle of the canal project.

“It’s true that most of these people don’t own the land and they have no legal certificates to prove ownership. But I don’t believe isolating them is the answer,” Slamet said.

“They just want to make a living, for their kids to go to school, and if the government could just sit down and talk to them, they’d be happy to listen.”

In order to survive, Tiarom said that if they could not go to sea, they would end up becoming cilong , or ragpickers, searching through garbage dumps to make a living. Only a few would look for odd jobs on construction sites.

“If we go to sea, we can earn at least Rp 40,000 ($4.25) to Rp 60,000 a day if the catch is good. On a bad day we only make about Rp 10,000,” he said. “The past three years have been hard because of the unpredictable weather, and pollution from the surrounding industries has caused fish numbers to shrink.”

Abdul Hadi, a professor at Paramadina University, said only a few traditional fishing communities were staying faithful to their trades.

More than 80 people in Jakarta were killed and thousands more left homeless due to flooding in 2007. Floods also prompted the closure of the city’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport in 2008. Monsoon rains cause flooding almost every year in Jakarta, where the only flood-control canal is too small to handle the runoff.

“We are facing a crisis in this country in regard to the existence of fishing communities. This should be seen as a cultural conflict,” Abdul said. “We can’t force these people to trade off their cultures and livelihoods for something completely alien to them.”

Indonesia rejects Bali plan for turtle sacrifices

The Jakarta Post, Niniek Karmini , Associated Press , Jakarta | Fri, 11/27/2009 4:19 PM

Indonesia has rejected a push by the resort island of Bali for rare turtles to be legally slain in Hindu ceremonies, siding with conservationists of the protected reptiles against religious advocates, an official said Friday.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika enraged environmentalists by advocating a quota of 1,000 green turtles to be killed each year, strictly for ceremonial purposes.

He said legally killed turtles should not end up in cooking pots, served to tourists in restaurants as soup or turtle skewers as they had in the past.

"It would be supervised tightly, and any violation would have to punished," Pastika told reporters in Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday.

Turtle meat is a traditional delicacy in Bali, the only province with a Hindu majority in Indonesia's Muslim-dominated archipelago. But Indonesia banned the turtle trade and consumption a decade ago amid international concerns about the endangered species' dwindling numbers and threats by animal welfare groups of a tourist boycott of Bali.

Masyud, a spokesman for the Forestry Ministry which is also responsible for animal conservation, said Friday the governor's request for a Bali exemption from national protection laws was recently rejected on scientific advice.

"The law clearly mandates it was not possible, that the green turtles are included in the animals listed for protection," said Masyud, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Tens of thousands of green turtles nest on Indonesia's coasts, but sites have dwindled due to poaching and development.

Conservationist generally respect the Hindus' need for turtles in rituals, but railed against the number proposed.

Wayan Geria, coordinator of the Turtle Education and Conservation Center at Bali, described the quota plan as an embarrassment to protection efforts.

Creusa Hitipeuw, coordinator of the Indonesia turtle program of the World Wildlife Fund, said introducing such a high quota could trigger large-scale illegal trade and consumption.

"We recognize the need for the use of turtles in a ceremony, but it has to be managed well," she said. "What we are afraid of is the commercial trade. It's a death trap for this kind of population."

Bali Hindu Faith Council head Ngurah Sudiana called for Jakarta to approve a smaller quota.

"The central government should understand the need for green turtles as part of traditional ceremonies because it relates to our faith," Sudiana said. "Prohibiting it will hurt Balinese people."

Up to five turtles are needed for sacrifice at each of the 100 to 150 large ceremonies a year in Hindu temples around Bali, he said.

Turtles were traditionally decapitated. But since they became protected in 1999, ceremonies in many temples have changed with turtles being symbolically sacrificed through their release to the sea alive.

Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.

Landmark treaty seeks to slash illegal fishing

Google/AFP

ROME — A landmark treaty aimed at denying port access to foreign boats engaged in illegal fishing has been signed by the United States and a host of other nations, as well as the EU, the UN said Wednesday.

Ichiro Nomura, assistant director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation's Fisheries Department, called it the most significant international fishing treaty since 1995.

It marks the first time countries will be called upon to deny foreign fishing boats access to their ports if they are found to have engaged in illegal fishing.

Responsibility for the boats has primarily been with the countries granting them permission to fly their flags.

"It's a milestone achievement," Nomura said. "No longer will we solely rely on the ability of fishing nations to monitor behaviour by vessels flying their flags on the open waters of the oceans.

"Now countries are committing to taking steps to identify, report and deny entry to offenders at ports where fishing fleets are received. That's a key back-door that will be slammed shut with the new international treaty."

The FAO's governing body has approved the treaty and 11 members have signed it, the organisation said.

They are: Angola, Brazil, Chile, the European Commission, Indonesia, Iceland, Norway, Samoa, Sierra Leone, the United States and Uruguay.

It will take effect once 25 countries have ratified it.

The FAO said foreign fishing vessels wishing to dock will be required to request permission from ports ahead of time, transmitting information on their activities and the fish they have on board.

That provides authorities an opportunity to spot any red flags in advance, it said. Port states will also conduct regular inspections of ships according to a common set of standards.

When a vessel is denied access, port states must communicate that information publicly and national authorities of the country whose flag the vessel is flying must take follow-up action, the FAO said.

Indonesia Minister, envoy hold reception in London

Antara News, Wednesday, November 25, 2009 18:15 WIB

London (ANTARA News) - Visiting Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi and Indonesian ambassador to Great Britain Yuri Octavian Thamrin held a diplomatic reception here on Tuesday night.

Held on the Indonesian embassy premises in London, the diplomatic reception was conducted in the framework of Indonesia`s bid to be reelected to the executive council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The reception, attended by around 200 people from various countries, was held to gather support for Indonesia`s renomination as an IMO executive board the for 2009-2011 period.

Minister Freddy Numberi and Ambassador Yuri Thamrin received the guests at the embassy`s meeting hall where they were entertained with traditional Balinese dance and music.

Transportation attache at the Indonesian embassy in London, Hadi Supriyono said Indonesia had its own interest to be part of the IMO Council because of its strategic location at the international shipping line which is important for international economic stability and security.

He said the support was needed to maintain regional security and to improve cooperation in maritime security for the smoothness of international trade.

Indonesia also had a strong commitment to actively giving its positive contribution to IMO`s activity, especially in the improvement of maritime security and safety for international shipping and the protection of the maritime environment.

Therefore, many friendly countries had been encouraged to give their unconditional support to Indonesia`s renomination for IMO Council C category for the 2009-2011 period.

Indonesia intends to maintain its membership in IMO`s executive board at the organization`s 26th meeting in London from November 23-December 4, 2009 in London.

Before leaving for London, Freddy Numberi said in Jakarta recently that the meeting was important because it had to do with the issue of the Indonesian region and aspect of shipping safety in the country.

"We will mobilize support from a number of countries ahead of the IMO meeting," Numberi said recently in Jakarta.

He said his side was ready to maintain the country`s membership in IMO`s executive board but it would also take account of the situation at the meeting.

"The initial target right now is maintaining the country`s membership in Category C which groups 20 countries that hold special rights in shipping and navigation and reflect geographically fair representation. That is the target for the time being," he said.

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