Jokowi, in Rare Tirade, Threatens to Fire Officials Over Cargo Delays at Tanjung Priok

Jakarta Globe, Jun 17, 2015

President Joko Widodo telling officials and reporters what’s what, during a visit to
 Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday. The president threatened to fire
 officials responsible for the notorious delays in moving cargo through the port.
(Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo gave an uncharacteristic outburst during an inspection of Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port on Wednesday, threatening to fire officials responsible for the lengthy delays in moving containers through the port.

“The process takes too long because the people handling it don’t want to move fast,” he told an entourage of officials and reporters.

He noted that Tanjung Priok’s dwell time, or the amount of time a container spends at the port before moving on, was an average of 5.5 days – the longest in Asia, he said. He also said some items took up to a month to clear customs and excise.

Joko added he was well aware of the legendary delays at the port, which handles two-thirds of Indonesia’s international trade, from his experience running a furniture export business, and threatened to fire any officials responsible for the problem.

“Let it be known that if things get [even more] difficult, I can fire the director general, the people on the ground, even the minister. If that’s how you work that’s [what will happen],” he said.

He did not specify which director general or minister he was referring to. The director general of customs and excise is Agung Kuswandono, whose office falls under the purview of the Finance Ministry, headed by Bambang Brodjonegoro. The trade and transportation ministries, which also have a hand in operations at the port, are headed respectively by Rachmat Gobel and Jonan Ignasius.

Joko said it was apparent that no one involved in the process – from loading and unloading containers to clearing them through customs – understood their duties or responsibilities, and chastised the officials around him for glossing over the problems.

“Don’t say everything’s fine. The reality is that [Indonesia] is lagging far behind. So who? Customs or trade? Who should I be speaking to?” he said, repeating the question seven more times.

There was no response from any of the officials.

“Which agency takes the longest time [processing] exports and imports?” the president went on. “There’s gotta be one. So I’m asking again, which one? Fess up, and we’ll fix it.”

Again there was no response.

Joko said the average dwell time at Tanjung Priok should be brought down to 4.7 days if Indonesia was to be competitive with Singapore and Malaysia.

“I want this port to be faster, more efficient, to give the best import and export services, because our business is the service business,” he said.

India counters Xi's 'belt and road' with competing project

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-03-01

Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi meet in New Delhi on Sept. 18,
2014. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chinese president Xi Jinping's "belt and road" initiative to link China with with Europe through Central and Western Asia and to connect with Southeast Asian countries will be met with staunch challenges from India's own competing proposal, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

Xi's ambitious strategic plan, announced last year, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt, a land-based belt from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a maritime route through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.

Pang Zhongying, an international relations professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, says while Xi has personally invited Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to join the belt and road initiative, New Delhi has never expressed a clear indication of support.

Instead, India will soon be launching its own Project Mausam, a transnational initiative meant to revive its ancient maritime routes and cultural linkages with countries in the region.

Mausam is a "threatening and competing" initiative will pose a major challenge for China's belt and road plans, Pang said, noting that the project intends to stretch from East Africa, the Arabian peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka to the Southeast Asian archipelago — all the regions forming the extent of India's cultural influence.

As the primary "organizer" of security and trade in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi has a central and unique role in the region, Pang said, adding that the competing initiatives could turn into a major tussle between the world's two biggest rising powers.

India's economic influence has also been growing, with reports that its national GDP for the upcoming financial year will outdo China and soar to a four-year high of 8.5%.

The Economist even described the competitive dynamics between China and India as akin to the tale of the hare and the tortoise, adding that India's economic prowess could very well eclipse that of China's in the near future.

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The dialogue meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Nov. 8. 

(Photo/Xinhua)

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Landmark Education Deal Looks to Maritime Future

Jakarta Globe, Rabab Hannan, Feb 10, 2015

Pelita Harapan University (UPH) rector Jonathan L. Parapak, right, director of the
 Shipping and Transportation College Rotterdam (STC-Group) Albert Bos, center,
 and MCS Internasional manning and training services managing director Johan
Novitrian sign a cooperation agreement as Hajo Provo Kluit from the Netherlands
 Embasy, right, and Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi director Theo Lekatompessy
look on. (ID Photo/Emral)

Jakarta. Hajo Provo Kluit, the deputy head of the economic department of the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, has formalized the signing of a maritime educational partnership between Pelita Harapan University (UPH), STC-Group Rotterdam and Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi.

The master’s program opens management opportunities in the field of maritime industry, with practical training and internship collaboration provided by STC and Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi.

Held at the university’s executive education facility in Jakarta on Monday, the signing of the cooperation allows the expansion of human resources in the fields of maritime, logistics and supply chain.

“The ties between Indonesia and Netherlands are very broad. Our embassy processes about 28,000 visa applications a year to travel to the Netherlands. Students are also studying at various institutes in Netherlands,” Provo Kluit said.

“Another area in which the Indonesian government is close to the Netherlands is interest in infrastructure, logistics and water management. I like to think of Indonesia as our gateway to Southeast Asia,” Provo Kluit added on behalf of the economic department of the Netherlands Embassy.

UPH’s key mission is for the specialization of the maritime industry and for senior managers to access port authority, shipping and logistics companies throughout Indonesia.

“I’d like to thank STC and Humpuss to have actually taken part together in this executive program to start something unique in Indonesia,” said UPH rector Jonathan Parapak. “This is a very elite program that will be of interest to many Indonesians. Thank you to the embassy of the Netherlands for supporting this too.”

International faculty members will also teach the program from one of the world’s largest shipping schools — STC Group Rotterdam — offering practical and engaging experiences.

“Hopefully this program can help future executives of the government,” said STC director Captain Albert Bos.

The UPH executive education center was established in 2013 with a mission to provide cutting-edge, results-orientated executive education programs that build managerial and leadership capabilities.

UPH is pushing for an international standard in education, especially in the field of human capital training for maritime services.

“The government is pushing for a maritime industry but I think there is a significant gap in the human capital development in that particular sector,” said UPH senior adviser for executive education Grace Ugut. “Building ports can be done quite quickly — money is there — but building human capital is something that will have to be invested in.”

The uniqueness of this program lies in the integration of shipping, commercial, technological and even maritime law and leadership endeavors.

“Our program will not only open up a classroom, but there is a component of internship, local content and we partner with STC because they are really good in terms of technical assistance but we also invite institutes from the UK and Sweden as they are very strong on the maritime quality and insurance,” Grace said. “We want the best standard but at the same time have all the local content.”

Theo Lekatompessy, president director of new partner Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi, however, revealed the extent of international and regional challenges through inconsistent standards of educational recognition.

“The problem is basically we need a standard in Indonesia; at least the harmonization of education. So when you have a certificate in Jakarta it will reflect the same wherever you go,” Theo said. “Our next issue is how to apply the standard on certifications of the skills [in maritime] with international standards?”

He emphasized the need to overlook international standards in order to find national common ground for Indonesian Maritime education.

“STC is fine-tuning the standards and allowing it to become applicable. UPH will focus on the education and development of the capacity building group.”

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We Are Waiting for You to Invest in Indonesia, Jokowi Tells APEC in Speech

Jakarta Globe, Nov 11, 2014

President Joko Widodo delivers a speech at the APEC CEO Summit as part of the
 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the China National Convention
Center in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2014. (AFP Photo/Pool/Andy Wong)

Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo addressed business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Beijing on Monday, where he put out a call for greater investment in the archipelago and promised a friendlier climate for doing business in the country.

The following is his speech:

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and CEOs.

First, on behalf of Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for coming to my presentation. Today I am very happy to be among with you because you know I was a businessman years ago. So this morning I am very happy because we can talk about business, about investment with all of you.

This picture shows you our map of Indonesia. We have a population of 240 million and the distance is like from London in the UK to Istanbul in Turkey. And imagine, we have 17,000 islands.

Our national budget in 2015 is $167 billion and the fuel subsidy [allocation] is $27 billion. It’s huge. So we want to channel our fuel subsidy from consumption to productive activities. We want to channel [the money] to farmers for seed, for fertilizers, and also for irrigation. And we want to build dams — 25 dams in five years from our fuel subsidy to maintain the water supply to farming areas.

Some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to fishermen, to give them boat engines [and] refrigerators. We want to increase the income of the fishermen. Some fuel subsidy [funds] we want to [give to] micro and small enterprises in the villages. We want to help them raise working capital. And some subsidy [funds] we want to channel to the health program [and] the education program. And the subsidy [funds] we [also] want to channel to infrastructure.

In five years we want to build 24 seaports and deep seaports. We have 17,000 islands, so we need seaports and deep seaports. And this is your opportunity: 24 seaports and deep seaports.

This picture shows our Jakarta port, Tanjung Priok Port. In 2009, the capacity was 3.6 million TEUs a year. And our plan in 2017 is around 15 million TEUs a year. This is the potential [for] ports in Indonesia. This is your opportunity. We want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, Maluku, also in Papua. And we plan to build our [railway network]. We already [have railway lines] in Java and we want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. This is your opportunity.

Now we talk about mass transportation. We want to build mass transportation in six big cities in Indonesia. We started in Jakarta last year, and we want to build in Medan, Makassar, Semarang, Bandung [and] Surabaya. So, this is also your opportunity. Because you know our national budget is limited.

Now we [will] talk [about] our maritime agenda. We want to build [a] sea toll. What is [a] sea toll? [A] Sea toll is [a] maritime transportation system to make our transportation costs lower [and] more efficient. We want to build from the west to the east. We hope not only the vessels can enter our sea toll but also mother vessels can enter the sea toll. So the price, the cost of the transportation, [becomes] more efficient.

For example, the price of [...] one sack [of] cement in Java is $6 [...] But in Papua the price is $150 [...] Imagine, 25 times [as much]. So we hope with our sea toll the price in our islands [will be] the same.

Electricity. We need power plants. We need around 35,000 [megawatts] to build our industries, projects, industrial zones, [manufacturing] zones. So we need power plants. This is also your opportunity to invest in this project. Because we need our power plants for manufacturing, for industrial zones.

Many investors, a lot of investors, when they come to me most of them [...] always complain about land acquisition. I will push my ministers, my governors, my mayors to help clear this problem. I have experience with land acquisition when I was a governor. We [had the] Jakarta Outer Ring Road [project that] started 15 years ago but stopped eight years ago, because we had a problem. One point five kilometers [was] unfinished because there [were] 143 families [who did] not accept [...] the compensation price. So last year I invited them [...] to lunch and dinner. Four times. Ah, this is me. I invited them and then we talked about the problem. Four times. And the problem [was] cleared.

And now the toll road has been [in use since] seven months ago.

Now [let’s] talk business permits. We have a national one-stop service office that can help you, that will serve you, that will facilitate you, that will give you your business permit. For example, [a] principle business permit [will take] three days to process.

Finally, again on behalf of the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to thank you for your listening my presentation. We are waiting for you to come to Indonesia. We are waiting for you to invest in Indonesia. Thank you.

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Draft of the Master Plan for National Capital Integrated Coastal Development. 
(JG Screen Grab courtesy of the website of the Coordinating Ministry of
Economic Affairs)

Delivering logistics

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 04/08/2009 4:32 PM

Workers in tourist island, Lombok, load boxes that will be used as vote containers in the upcoming general elections on Thursday in Gili Meno Village. (Antara/Budi Afandi)

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Delays in offloading palm cargoes in China

Business Times, Malaysia, 2009/03/20

TANKERS carrying palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia face delays of up to a month in discharging their cargoes at destination ports, especially in Southern China, due to oversupply, Malaysian traders said today.

Top palm producers Indonesia and Malaysia ship about 100,000 tonnes of palm oil products each week to China, the world’s largest consumer of vegetable oils, historical data shows.

The latest delay is for a 54,000-tonne tanker from Indonesia chartered by a Singaporean based palm producer, which may have to wait for two weeks or more to offload consignments of crude palm oil and refined palm olein, a top Malaysian trader said.

“The tanker came into Guangzhou port today but it will have to wait for more than the usual one week to offload such a big ship,” said another trader based in Malaysia’s top palm producing state, Sabah, which regularly ships to China. “There is definitely some congestion there.”

China has built up high stocks of imported vegetable oils this year after just two to three months of aggressively buying palm oil from Asia, traders say. The East Asian nation does not release data on its imported vegetable oil inventories.

Traders say the recent delays for tankers to unload in China could have a bearish undertone for palm oil prices as the supply chain chokes up.

“Despite the drawdown in stocks in Malaysia and Indonesia, mills may soon get filled up with palm oil when the production upswing starts in April or May and harvesters will eventually be unable to pluck the palm fruits because of this,” a trader said.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose more than 2 per cent by 0741 GMT on Friday as crude oil’s surge in the previous session resonated through global vegetable oil markets, offsetting weakness in palm oil shipment data.

Plantation firms that deal mostly with China include Singapore-listed Wilmar International, Malaysia’s IOI Group, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Kwantas Corp while Sime Darby is an emerging player in the market.

“Of the roughly 100,000 tonnes of palm cargoes shipped to China each week, about 50 per cent have got delayed over the past few weeks,” said another Malaysian trader, dealing mostly with East Asia.

“Everybody is facing the same problem. The recession is making buyers operate on a hand-to-mouth basis, which is leading to some port congestion.” - Reuters

Local shipping sector left in need of loans

Aditya Suhermoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/25/2008 12:45 AM 

The local shipping industry requested more bank loans Monday to support the anticipated rise in shipping demand caused by a government policy banning foreign vessels from transporting goods between local ports. 

Director general of sea transportation Effendi Batubara said the shipping sector needed a lot of funds following the enactment of the 2005 presidential decree on "cabotage principle", which will be fully applied after 2011. 

The principle will only allow locally registered vessels to ship domestic commodities between ports in Indonesian waters. 

To expand local fleet and shipyard capacity, the Transportation Ministry has estimated financial needs of more than Rp 34 trillion until 2010. 

According to the ministry, Indonesian flag vessels last year carried 148.7 million tons of domestic cargo, or 65.3 percent of total cargo, while the remaining 34.7 percent was still served by foreign shipping companies. 

Bank Indonesia (BI) said the banking sector only disbursed Rp 9.8 trillion in loans to the shipping industry last year, just a small portion of the sector's total lending of Rp 1,000.81 trillion. 

"The amount, however, rose by 88 percent from Rp 5.22 trillion disbursed in 2006," BI deputy governor Muliaman D. Hadad said. 

The rate of non-performing loans for the shipping sector declined to 3.8 percent in 2007 from 11 percent in 2006, signaling the sector's healthy performance. 

"The number showed a remarkable improvement for the industry," said Muliaman. 

"With these figures, I don't see any reason for banks not to actively channel loans to the industry," he said, adding the lack of awareness about the issue among local banks was the main reason for the low number of loans.

 

"Banks still perceive the shipping industry as high-risk and slow yielding. That is why they are not that involved in the sector," he said.

 

Because of these difficulties, the local shipping industry has been exploring alternative funding from the capital market and foreign financial banks and institutions.

 

Chairman of the Indonesian National Shipowners Association Oentoro Surya said the industry had to seek other sources of financing to keep businesses afloat because there was a local stigma the industry was high-risk.

 

He explained banks were reluctant to give loans because the industry had no legal basis to give its vessels as collateral.

 

"Banks will not disburse loans without collateral," he said, adding the current deliberation of the shipping bill would provide a legal basis and enable local shipping companies to easily get loans from local banks.

 

The House of Representatives is set to endorse the bill next month.

Govt urged to act on illegal foreign ships

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta , Mon, 03/03/2008 12:52 AM

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the Indonesian Seafarers Union have demanded the government take action against foreign-flagged vessels operating illegally in Indonesia.

The groups said illegal operations had caused losses to the state because the vessels avoided paying taxes to the Indonesian government.

Some of the tanker ships were allegedly chartered by state oil and gas firm Pertamina.

Under a 2005 presidential decree, foreign ships were banned from operating as domestic carriers within Indonesia's maritime boundaries.

"The decree clearly states that for domestic trade within the country, only Indonesian-flagged ships are allowed to carry out delivery services," union chairman Hanafi Rustandi told The Jakarta Post.

He said despite erecting foreign flags, these vessels were actually operated by Indonesian companies.

"The ships are able to stay in Indonesia's waters without the obligation to abide by our regulations," Hanafi said.

The ITF membership includes seafarers and their unions from across the globe.

Hanafi, also coordinator of Indonesia's ITF, said there were many ships operating in the country under "Flags of Convenience" (FoC), which meant owners registered their vessels in other countries and hoisted those flags on their ships.

The ITF said agents from 32 countries, including Bahamas, Bermuda (UK), Burma, Cambodia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Liberia, Mongolia, North Korea, Panama and Sri Lanka, offered permits for "Flags of Convenience".

"An owner will only have to pay around US$200 to $300 to register each ship under an FoC," Vadim G. Ivanov, foreign relations director at the Russian Seafarers Union, said at a press conference Friday with Hanafi.

Ivanov said once a ship was registered under FoC, the owner then recruited the cheapest labor, paid minimal wages and lowered the living standards and working conditions of their crews.

The federation had received reports from many sailors complaining they lost their rights while working as crew members on board foreign-flagged ships.

One of the victims was a Myanmarese seafarer, Kyaw Htin, who worked for Panama-flagged oil tanker MT Julia-I operated by Indonesian company PT Bina Usaha Mandiri Indonesia Laut (BUMI Laut).

Hanafi identified the ship's owner as Jaka Aryadipa Singgih, a lawmaker with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

In a letter released to the press during the news conference, Kyaw said US$4,929 of his salary had not been paid by the company, although he had been off-board since January.

"The company where he (Htin) worked also held his passport and other documents, limiting his activities in Indonesia," Hanafi said.

Singgih and his lawyers Andy Syam Panaungi and Susanto could not be reached on Sunday.

The ITF said BUMI Laut has been operating 14 vessels, of which seven were chartered by Pertamina, to distribute fuel to eastern Indonesia.

"Pertamina should cancel the charter agreement with those ships because their practices are against our regulations and the conventions of ILO and IMO," he said.

PT BUMI Laut, however, denied the company had charter agreements with Pertamina.

"The statement of ITF that Pertamina chartered our ships is wrong," he said.

"As a company owned by Indonesian businessmen, PT BUMI Laut works professionally and always pay the salaries of its workers," the company's lawyers said in a statement, Berita Kota daily reported last Wednesday. (dia)

Samudra Indonesia orders two bulk carriers at $97.6 mln

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Publicly-listed sea transportation service company PT Samudra Indonesia Tbk has put an order with South Korea`s STX Shipbuilding for two bulk carriers at US$97.6 million.

The company placed the order for the two 57,700 dwt ships through its subsidiary, Foremost Maritime Pte Ltd, PT Samudra Indonesia`s corporate secretary, Diana P. Iskandar, said in a report to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) on Monday.

The two ships were scheduled for completion in the first half of 2011, she said adding the addition of the two ships was expected to increase the subsidiary`s capability to face a boom in the demand for bulk carrier services.

One foot on sea, one on shore

The Jakarta Post, P.J. Leo

Many writers have used references to the vital energy of ports, where workers scramble up masts as ships lie at anchor, taking on and discharging cargo.

Sunda Kelapa Port in northern Jakarta is part of the Old Town heritage site. It was built between 1634 and 1645 by the Dutch governor general J.P. Coen, whose ambition was to recreate Amsterdam in Batavia (Jakarta).

However, long before the Dutch administration reigned the East Indies (Indonesia then), the port had become the docking point for early European merchants, largely the Portuguese.

Now the port is home to inter-city trade, with ships departing and arriving from destinations in Java, as well as Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands, around the clock.

Traditional Bugis schooners or phinisi are a fixture at Sunda Kelapa, their silhouettes creating a distinctive image, from dawn until dusk.

Trada Maritime, Asahi Tanker form joint venture shipping company

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Trada Maritime, a subsidiary of Trada International trading and shipping company, signed an agreement to form a joint venture with the Japanese-owned Asahi Tanker on Tuesday in Jakarta.

Trada Maritime president director Darmansyah Tanamas said the joint venture, PT Trada Asahi Maritime (TAM), would provide shipping services and logistics to oil and gas companies.

Under the new venture, Trada Maritime and Asahi Tanker own respectively 51 percent and 49 percent of shares in the company. TAM will be controlled by Trada Maritime, with strategic guidance from Asahi Tanker.

"Our aim is to explore opportunities in the domestic clean oil product market in both Indonesia and other regions," he said as quoted in a press release.

President director of the 57-year-old Asahi Tanker, Makoto Iwata, said he saw a good strategic alliance and business opportunity between both companies.

"Our experience in transporting clean and other petroleum products will complement Trada's network and experience in the Indonesia region," Iwata said, adding that the joint venture with the local company was the first of its kind for Asahi.

Darmansyah said, on Jan. 1, 2010, the government would introduce a presidential decree on the protection of the domestic shipping industry, forbidding non-Indonesian flag vessels to operate in the country.

He said his company saw the upcoming decree as an opportunity to expand its business by striking an alliance with an experienced foreign shipping company.

Currently, he said, four of Indonesia's 13 biggest import and export commodities -- oil, coal, crude palm oil and gas -- were still controlled by international operators.

"These four are still controlled by international operators. TAM was created to answer the call to transport crude oil and its derivative products," he said.

Iwata said the venture would benefit both parties, in knowledge transfer and human and capital resources.

Trada Maritime, formerly known as PAS Maritime, offers services including marine terminals, ship management and logistics to oil and petrochemical industries in Indonesia.

Asahi Tanker is a shipping company with a 15-ship fleet, including small to large tankers and various types of specialized vessels, with affiliations in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and London.(nkn)

NSW scheme to be rolled out in nine more ports

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government hopes to expand the National Single Window (NSW) scheme, an on-line permit service for importers and exporters -- first introduced earlier this week at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port -- to nine more major ports next year.

"So far, it's been successful at Tanjung Priok Port.

"And we expect that ten big ports, including Tanjung Priok Port, will be served by the scheme by the end of 2008, at the latest," said Edy Putra Irawadi, a deputy to the coordinating minister for economics, on Thursday.

By next April, he said, the government would introduce the system at Belawan Port in North Sumatra, Tanjung Mas in Central Java, Tanjung Perak in East Java, and Makasar Port in South Sulawesi.

The extension of the scheme to another five ports -- Panjang in South Sumatra, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Batam, Bali and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan -- was expected to follow later in the year.

Last Monday, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati officially launched the first stage of NSW and its web portal -- http://www.insw.go.id.

During the first stage, five government agencies out of the 36 with responsibilities in the export/import field, have adopted the system, namely, the Customs Office, Food and Drug Control Agency, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Animal Quarantine Center and the Agricultural Quarantine Center.

Currently, however, only 100 importers -- the beneficiaries of the so-called fast-track priority facility operated by the port authority -- are able to benefit from the scheme.

The priority facility, which grants importers preferential treatment for goods inspection at the port, is restricted to firms that have a proven track record and have never violated the regulations.

As for exporters, they will not be eligible to receive such treatment during the first phase of the NSW scheme, which is expected to end before April, when the second phase is scheduled to commence.

"We hope that by April next year, when we launch a common portal, the work of all the 36 agencies will be integrated in the NSW system, as well as other importers and exporters, so that we can simplify permit processing and curtail corruption," Edy said,

"There used to be a lot of redundancies involved as regards the necessary documents, unnecessary payments and convoluted bureaucracy."

He said that under the new service, an importer would only need 7.5 hours to get the necessary clearances to recover their shipments from the port authority, must faster than previously, when several days might be required.

The new service would also significantly reduce costs.

Edy said the NSW scheme had also simplified the job of the relevant government agencies, adding that the 23 biggest ports in Indonesia had to process 4.5 million export and import documents every year.

Berlian acquires Chembulk Tankers

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : Publicly listed shipping company PT Berlian Laju Tanker (BLT) has acquired Marshall Islands-based chemical tanker company Chembulk Tankers LLC, through its subsidiary Asean Maritime Corporation.

Director of BLT, Kevin Wong, said Wednesday in a statement to the Jakarta Stock Exchange that the cost of the acquisition was US$850 million.

He said the purchase made BLT the third largest chemical tanker operator in the world with 54 ships with a total capacity of 820,600 deadweight tons (DWT).

Chembulk now operates 16 double-hull ships capable of carrying a total of 397,200 DWT. It plans to add three more ships by 2009, which will increase its total capacity to 468,200 DWT.

Surabaya's customs office head arrested on illegal logs

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Head of Surabaya Customs Office Dwi Cahyono Thursday was arrested for his alleged involvement in trafficking 10 containers of illegal logs from Kalimantan forests.

"I have led the arrests of two suspects. But we release one of them because there is not enough evidence of his involvement," East Java Police chief Ins. Gen. Herman S. Sumawiredja was quoted by Antara news agency as saying in the provincial capital of Surabaya.

He was accused of being involved in counterfeiting documents of 10 containers of logs Rp 10 billion (US$1.09 million) to be sent to abroad from Kalimantan.

Cargo costs set record as world runs short of ships

Timesonline

Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

Cargo freight rates are soaring as the world runs out of ships to satisfy the extraordinary craving for fuel, grain and metals.

The Baltic Exchange’s Dry Cargo Index reached a record high of 6,230 points yesterday as the market responded to the shortage by propelling the cost of shipping to record levels. The Dry Cargo Index’s previous peak was at 6,208 points in December 2004.

The daily rate for the largest vessels, known as capesize – capable of carrying 172,000 tonnes of cargo – reached $106,289 yesterday, while panamax rates, for vessels that can carry up to 74,000 tonnes, reached $47,100 a day.

Jeremy Penn, chief executive of the Baltic Exchange, said that the continuing strength of Chinese demand for coal and iron ore was propelling rates higher. The China factor, “coupled with delays in Australian ports and a weak dollar, have given the freight markets a boost”, Mr Penn said.

China’s increasing impact on the commodity markets was having knock-on effects on third countries. Japan and South Korea are now sourcing raw materials from countries farther away, such as Australia, Brazil and Indonesia, leading to longer sea voyages and leaving fewer ships available for charter.

Increasing volatility in the underlying physical market for vessels is having the additional effect of driving up volumes in the recently created derivatives market. The derivatives market uses Baltic Exchange indices to settle future contracts.

Until the recent surge in activity, the Dry Cargo Index had traded in a range between 500 and 2,500 points from 1985 to 2003.

Gading Sari Signs Deal With Pos Indonesia

By Mohd Nasir Yusoff, Bernama.com

JAKARTA, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- PT Gading Sari Indonesia, a subsidiary company of Gading Sari Aviation Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a logistics company, Thursday signed a partnership agreement with PT Pos Indonesia to modernise the latter's facilities and consequently start a new era in the postal services of Indonesia.

The event which also marked the official establishment of PT Gading Sari, was graced by Tengku Mahkota Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at a leading hotel here.

Also present was Indonesia's Minister for State Owned Enterprises Indonesia Soegiharto and Malaysia's Finance Ministry Secretary General Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahya.

Besides looking at a potential market of 230 million people in Indonesia, the partnership is also expected to open the doors for the two parties, PT Gading Sari and PT Pos Indonesia, to jointly explore expanding into the wider Asean market.

After Indonesia, Gading Sari Aviation Services Malaysia is also looking into exploring opportunities in Vietnam and China.

Under the deal, PT Gading Sari will initially help PT Pos Indonesia set up its land, sea and air transportation faclities as well as modernise its storage, logistics and communication facilities.

Chief Executive Officer of PT Gading Sari, Taufick D. Mochtar, said that his company considered it an honour to help PT Pos Indonesia and aimed to push up PT Pos Indonesia as an international level company in the logistics industry.

Meanwhile, the chief director of PT Pos Indonesia Hana Suryana said that the partnership was its initial step towards establishing a vision and an Initial Public Offer in 2010.

For this, PT Pos Indonesia would require strategic alliances such as what it has with PT Gading Sari, he said.

At the event today, PT Gading Sari also launched its operations as the agent of Columbia Aircraft which provides executive jet charter services.