Rotterdam port to reward clean initiatives

DutchNews, December 5, 2016

Rotterdam port authority is now ready to invest in companies which are actively reducing CO2 emissions or which do not use fossil fuels in production at all, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday.

Rottterdam seaport, the largest in Europe, is also home to one of the continent’s largest petrochemical complexes accounting for 18% of greenhouse gases emitted each year in the Netherlands. In order to meet the requirements of the Paris climate accord, Co2 emissions must be reduced by 90% by 2050, also in the port.

‘When it comes to crucial investment, we are willing to take an active, risk-bearing role in companies striving towards this goal,’ Allard Castelein, director of Rotterdam port authority, told the FD. Until now the port authority has used its annual €200m investment budget largely for infrastructure, like roads and quays. 

‘There’s going to be a change,’ says Castelein, although he did not go into numbers. He said there was considerable freedom over investments agreed by the port’s shareholders, Rotterdam council and the national government. Incentives for new investment could include lower ground rents, the paper noted. 

A case in point is a possible €180m methanol plant being developed by a group headed by Akzo Nobel. ‘We are willing to buy a stake of 20% in the plant if it comes to Rotterdam,’ says Castelein. The port authority is also looking into a pipeline to transfer surplus industrial heat to the nearby Westland greenhouse area and to The Hague. 

But Castelein will not go so far as to ban companies with high CO2 emissions in the future. ‘Cleaner and more efficient production here will contribute to the global reduction of Co2 emissions,’ he told the paper. 

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Dutch company awarded contract for Kaoshiung port reclamation

Want China Times, CNA 2015-08-17

A dock at the Kaoshiung Intercontinental Container Center, Oct. 1,
2014. (File photo/Yen Jui-tien)

Dutch contractor Van Oord has been awarded the dredging contract for Kaoshiung Intercontinental Container Center Phase II, valued at approximately €130 million (US$144 million).

Van Oord has already started preparations for the new Kaohsiung terminal, which is scheduled to be completed by January 2018 and will involve the dredging and reclamation of 37 million cubic meters of sand for the extension of Kaohsiung Port, the company said in a statement on Aug. 13.

The Rotterdam-based company will employ one of its largest trailing suction hopper dredgers in Kaohsiung, the largest port in Taiwan which plays an important role in the nation's export-oriented economy.

Kaohsiung Intercontinental Container Center Phase II is a large land reclamation project being undertaken by Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC), with the aim of building a container transshipment hub.

The project site is located at Kaohsiung Port's second entrance in the southern offshore water area, with 422.5 hectares of reclaimed land and 19 deep-water piers, according to TIPC's website.

The project is scheduled to run from 2011 to 2019, with a total development budget of NT$150.6 billion (US$4.04 billion), NT$34.45 billion (US$1 billion) being contributed by the government and NT$116.15 billion (US$3.5 billion) by the private sector.

Sri Lanka eyes South Asian hub with Chinese mega port

Google – AFP, Amal Jayasinghe (AFP), 4 Aug 2013

This photograph taken on July 24, 2013, shows a container ship at the

state-run Jaya Container Terminal (AFP/File, Lakruwan Wanniarachchi)

COLOMBO — A $500 million Chinese-built port opens Monday in Sri Lanka, giving Beijing a vital foothold on the world's busiest international shipping lane as it seeks to secure maritime supply routes.

The massive terminal in Colombo is located mid-way on the lucrative east-west sea route and has facilities on a par with Singapore and Dubai.

The Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), which is 85 percent owned by the state-run China Merchant Holdings International, is designed to handle mega ships -- a first for Sri Lanka which is aiming to become the region's shipping hub.

The involvement of such a large Chinese company appears to conform to a pattern by Beijing after it sealed a deal in January to acquire the Pakistani port of Gwadar at a time when it is also building a $14 million "dry port" in the Nepalese city of Larcha, near Tibet.

Chinese loans and expertise were also instrumental in the construction of a new $450 million deep-sea port at the southern Sri Lankan city of Hambantota which opened in June 2012.

Independent shipping expert, Rohan Masakorala, says the new terminal made economic sense for China to tap in to the growing South Asian container cargo and gave Beijing a foothold along a strategic sea route.

"Terminal investments are a good business which can give a very good return," said Masakorala, a former secretary-general of the Singapore-based Asian Shippers Council.

"Through this investment, China is also securing the safety and efficiency of their main supply chain."

Masakorala, who heads the Shippers' Academy Colombo, said about half of all world sea trade passed through the east-west shipping route and a presence at a mid-way point along that gives China a commanding position.

"For China to maintain economic growth at home, they also need to go out and secure their supply routes. In that sense, coming to Colombo is a strategic commercial investment."

The Chinese investment in Sri Lanka, which is under pressure from Western powers and India over its human rights record, has raised fears in New Delhi about Beijing's influence in the neighbourhood.

But Priyath Bandu Wickrama, chairman of the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), insisted that India had nothing to fear from the new Colombo port and could in fact be a major beneficiary.

"We will not allow any military base at our ports nor will we allow them to be used for any strategic military purpose by anyone," Wickrama said.

Wickrama said shippers in India could save up to four days by routing their cargo through Sri Lanka rather than using Singapore or Dubai.

"Earlier, Indians along the east coast had to send their cargo to Singapore if they wanted to catch a mega ship going West. Now these mega ships will be going through Colombo and picking up Indian cargo," he told AFP.

"That saves time and a lot of money."

The two major ports of south India, the Port of Cochin and the Port of Tuticorin, are too shallow for mega vessels such as the world's largest container ship, the MV. Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller.

Saliya Senanayake from the London-based Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport says that "India is about five to six years behind Sri Lanka when it comes to port infrastructure".

Sri Lanka has been an important stop in the ancient Silk Sea Route and today hundreds of ships pass its southern coast daily while plying the world's busiest international shipping lane.

With a capacity of over 18,000 containers, the M.V. Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, which was commissioned about two weeks ago is expected to make up a fleet of 20 mega ships in the next two years plying the East-West route.

The SLPA is pouring millions of dollars into infrastructure around the island and says it is on course to increase container handling capacity by 1.6 million containers to 6.4 million by April.

It hopes to have a container capacity of 10 million by 2020, while revenue is forecast to triple to one billion dollars by 2020.

Hambantota, which is just 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) away from the East-West sea lane, is being promoted as a key service centre and industrial port where large ships can re-fuel or take on fresh food.

In April, Colombo's port is due to open another mega terminal just next to the Chinese-managed CICT. The new addition will initially be able to handle about 800,000 containers a year, according to the SLPA.

Professor Tsz Leung Yip, head of the International Centre for Maritime Studies at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said Chinese expertise coupled with Colombo's strategic location would make Sri Lanka a key stop-over for international carriers who want to avoid the threat posed by Somali pirates operating off the Gulf of Aden.

"In the presence of Somalia pirates, it is safer for ships (from the Far East to Europe) to stop over at Sri Lanka and head to Cape of Good Hope, without calling at Dubai port," he told AFP.

Govt eyes more cruise ship visits to RI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 10/08/2011

The government plans to separate industrial and tourism ports to bring more international cruise liners to Indonesia due to growing demands.

“We have to prepare our ports because they are crowded with cargo ships. International cruise tourists want to see the beauty of the port,” Firmansyah, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s director general for tourism development, told The Jakarta Post at his office on Friday.

He said that the ministry was collaborating with port operator PT Pelindo I and II as well as local administrations to improve ports including Tanah Ampo and Benoa in Bali, Tanjung Mas in Central Java, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Belawan in North Sumatra and Palopo in South Sulawesi.

“We have to admit that we are lacking ground handling facilities. We are working hard so that more international cruise ships can visit Indonesia,” he said, adding that the cruise industry had a lot of promise in Indonesia.

As of September 2011, there were 178 cruise ship calls with 113,766 passengers coming to Indonesia, while in 2010, that figure stood at 198 for the calls that brought 94,228 passengers.

In 2012, he said that as many as 215 calls have been scheduled to visit Indonesian ports, bringing 137,279 passengers.

He added that 2,000-passenger cruise ships had anchored twice in Tanah Ampo this year, including the Australian Sun Princess, which anchored at Tanah Ampo on July 17.

Sun Princess was the first ship to make a stopover after several others canceled their visits due to unfinished docking facilities. With 2,100 passengers and 880 crew on board, the ship made its final stopover in Tanah Ampo before returning to Fremantle, Australia.

Kicking off its journey in Fremantle, the ship went to Padang, Langkawi and Singapore before heading to Vietnam and Cambodia.

“Tanah Ampo still needs a wharf extension to be able to accommodate cruise liners, and we are working on that,” Firmansyah said.

The current pier is only 154 meters long, while the international standard is at least 300 meters.

Construction is unfinished, despite being was initiated years ago, for lack of around Rp 200 billion (US$23.6 million) budgeted by the central government.

Although docking facilities are not yet finished, cruise ships can anchor some 400 meters away from the wharf and small boats bring passengers and crew to a floating jetty to reach the terminal.

However, Firmansyah was upbeat that the dock would be finished soon because Pelindo and local administrations have felt the benefits. “Indonesia gets at least $1 million from cruise liner business a year,” he said.

Indonesia also plans to make Bali a hub cruise port that will connect several potential ports for foreign tourists in 2014, he said.

From Bali, cruise liners will travel to Semarang, Jakarta, Palopo, Flores and back to Bali.

The ministry is still choosing between Benoa and Tanah Ampo as the hub. However, he said that if Benoa were chosen, it would take much more work and time. (nfo)

Rotterdam mayor in Jakarta to help

RNW, 8 February 2011, By Michel Maas

(Photo: RNW/Michel Maas)

The Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, is visiting the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The two cities have signed a cooperation agreement for water management, but can Rotterdam's good intentions overcome the enormous problems facing the Indonesian port?

The mayor and his entourage are watching a small dredger pushing a mountain of thick black sludge and unidentifiable waste in front of it. A bucket scoops sludge from the water. The show is part of a project which doesn't seem to be making much impact. So much rubbish has accumulated under the bridge on which the bucket grab is standing that a dam has been created.

The dredging project is one of those in which Rotterdam is involved. It's not making any headway because there is no budget. Apparently that often doesn't appear until halfway through the year. No one in the mayor's group understands how this can be possible, but it seems that's the way things work here: Jakarta can do nothing without the government, the city services can do nothing without a budget. "The system needs to change" remarks Mayor Aboutaleb, but there is nothing Rotterdam can do to help with that.

Dry feet

The mayor has just signed an agreement under which Rotterdam is committed to work with Jakarta on water management. "Rotterdam can do a lot for Jakarta. We have a great deal of expertise with water." And expertise is much needed in Jakarta.

Mayor Aboutaleb is given a tour of the northern area, where the city meets the sea. The ground is visibly sinking: at the rate of seven centimetres a year. It won't be long before large parts of the city are under water.

He compares the situation with the Netherlands of 1953: after the flood everyone in Rotterdam was persuaded of the need for good seawalls. "Dry feet are a must. I see people in Jakarta are now aware of that. Dry feet are topic number one!"

Brick wall

The dredgers are part of the dry feet initiative. They will be used to clear out Jakarta's choked up canals and ditches in order to solve another water problem. Every rainy season parts of the city are flooded because there is nowhere for the water to go.

There are no seawalls to be seen and the dredgers stop working as soon as the mayor and his entourage are back on the coach. Ahmed Aboutaleb sighs "sometimes I have the feeling I'm up against a brick wall". Two days in Jakarta and the mayor seems close to despair already.

Then there is Jakarta's massive traffic problem. With no public transport and a desperate lack of roads, the city is in danger of coming to a complete standstill. On Sunday the mayor had an opportunity to spend plenty of time in a weekend traffic jam himself.

Religious background

But Aboutaleb is adamant: "Rotterdam can do a lot for Jakarta". Jakarta's governor, Fauzi Bowo, acknowledges that. Rotterdam is giving his officials training courses and Rotterdam is also giving Jakarta a foot in the door in the Netherlands, in Europe if you look at the broader picture. "We can't finance our projects ourselves. But we can talk to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union." He may not expect much of Rotterdam but every bit of help is clearly welcome.

Mayor Aboutaleb has another lesson for the Indonesians. The Netherlands is always described there as "the land of the windmills". Then there's the colonial history. And Geert Wilders. "At dinner they asked me what it was like being mayor of Rotterdam with my name and religious background. But in the Netherlands you can be given opportunities no matter where you were born."

He is opposed to the image of the Netherlands "elsewhere in the world, including here in Indonesia" as a country slipping into a deep pit of racism. "It's absolutely not true. I think it's important for someone like me to tell his story on a regular basis."

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Port operators say RI’s harbors need dredging

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/24/2011

Many of the nation’s harbors, especially in Bengkulu and Central Kalimantan, have silted up, a state port operator says.

PT Pelindo III director Dharwo Surjanto told a hearing of the House of Representatives’ Commission VI overseeing transportation on Monday that 11 of 43 harbors under its management had silted up.

He said the harbors had not been dredged for a long time. The worst case was in Bengkulu’s port which has not been dredged since 2001, tempointeraktif.com reported.

PT Pelindo II director RJ Lino said he repeatedly asked the government to dredge the harbors under his management, but to no avail. He said harbors should be dredged once every two or three years.

Due to silt, ships often arrive late, which affects and the loading and uploading activities.

PT Pelindo II manages 12 ports in 10 western provinces: Jakarta, Banten, West Java, West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, and West Kalimantan.

PT Pelindo III manages 40 ports in seven provinces: Central Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

Harbors under the management of Pelindo I and Pelindo IV are in better condition because the companies had dredged the harbors by themselves even though it was actually the government’s obligation.

PT Pelindo I’s working area includes Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau; while PT Pelindo IV operates in East Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.

Nine boats drifted at Tanjung Priok Port due to extreme weather

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/19/2011

High seas and extreme winds over the last three days have caused nine boats to drift into Tanjung Priok port, state port operator PT Pelindo II said Tuesday.

The boats included four tug boats and five barges.

“In accordance with our safety regulations, the boats have now been moored to the west and east buoys to clear the shipping lane,” Pelindo II public relations chief Hambar Wiyadi said, adding that the boats would soon be removed from the port.

Hambar also suggested ship operators use more anchors for their boats and instruct crews to anticipate high seas and strong winds.

Digging a memory of a sinking fishing center

Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 10/06/2010 9:35 AM

Decades ago, Bagan Siapiapi, Riau province, topped the list of the world’s best fishing towns.

Shape up or ship out: A group of children swim in front
 of an old wooden pier in Bagan Siapiapi port in Rokan
 Hilir, Riau. Once the country’s largest fish producing city,
 many native fishermen have given up their trade after
fish production declined over the last several decades.

Today, local fishermen struggle to make ends meet. What used to be Indonesia’s largest fishing grounds have gone into decline after rapid coastal sedimentation and overfishing.

In the 1930s, the port produced more than 300,000 tons of fish a year, making Indonesia the world’s second-largest fish producer after Peru, according to the Rokan Hilir tourism agency.

Production started to decline in the 1950s, after World War II.

The coastal area turned into swampland. Many fishermen, including those inherited their jobs from their parents, ended up beaching their boats and switching to other jobs.

Suyanto, 36, a former fisherman who now works on a ferry, recalled the days when his father took him sailing on a wooden fishing boat on the Malacca Strait.

“We usually spent at least a week at sea before coming back with fish filling every corner of our boat,” said Suyanto, grinning.

The father of four, who was born and raised in the town, said he had taken over piloting his father’s boat when he was in his early 20s.

After struggling with small and unprofitable catches for several years, Suyanto gave up his profession in 2002 and sold his boat to pay off piling debts.

“I gave up,” he said.

After losing his boat, Suyanto found work as a crewman on a wooden ferry boat that served passengers travelling between Bagan Siapiapi and Halang Island. 

Another Bagan Siapiapi resident, Hendrik, 26, chose not to find new work and to keep pursuing fish, but this time aboard a large commercial fishing vessel that plies the farthest part of the Malacca Strait.

Growing up in a fishing family, Hendrik said he had no other choice than to beach his fishing boat after a local businessman lured him with the promise of better wages.

As part of his new job, Hendrik works around the clock for two weeks and then has one week off. He said he can pocket almost Rp 400,000 (US$45) for every two-week voyage.

“When I was still fishing with my own boat, I often didn’t have enough money to buy fuel,” he said. 

“Now I just have to keep my body fit so that the ship captain would hire me back.”

Bagan Siapiapi, which is on Riau’s eastern coast, used to be part of Bengkalis regency. In 1999, the city became the capital of the newly established Rokan Hilir regency.

Bagan Siapiapi is a six-hour drive from Riau’s capital, Pekanbaru, or a 10-hour drive from the North Sumatran capital of Medan.

The road heading to the city is relatively smooth and is flanked by acres of oil palm trees or abandoned swampland.

The only public transportation serving Bagan Siapiapi is travel vans. Most residents prefer to use motorcycles, while a small number drive cars.

Locals say the city was established in the late 19th century by Chinese fishermen who fled their hometown in Fujian province to find a place where they could start a better life.

After weeks at sea, their boats were stranded on a peninsula on Sumatra’s northern coast. The Chinese decided to settle in the area after they realized its incredible fishing potential.

As their livelihood improved, the fishing families invited their relatives and friends back home to join them. By the 20th century, the peninsula had become a crowded city with a Chinese influence dominating its architecture and culture.

The area’s rapid development led the Dutch colonial administration to make Bagan Siapiapi the country’s first modern fishing port in 1901. It later became the biggest fishing port in the Malacca Strait.

Cementing hope: A man works in front of the newly built
port building in Bagan Siapiapi. Despite its ailing fishing
industry, Rokan Hilir administration has recently built
 a new port in the hope of reviving the fishing business.

“Just imagine, the port built by the Dutch a hundred years ago is now located around three kilometers away from the current port,” Rokan Hilir Marine and Fisheries Agency deputy head Surya Alam said.

According to the agency, the city produced around 10,000 tons of fish per year over the past three years – a much smaller amount than that produced by neighboring Kubu district, which produced on average of  23,000 tons of fish a year in the same period.

Aside from sedimentation, fishermen in Bagan Siapiapi also face illegal overseas fishermen, including those from Malaysia.

“We have estimated that 60 percent of fish caught annually in Rokan Hilir waters actually went to overseas fishermen,” Surya said, adding the regency currently had only one operating patrol boats to guard its waters.

Unable to guard its coast, Bagan Siapiapi has now turned into a haven for overseas drug smugglers.

In August last year, Riau police broke up a drug syndicate based in the city’s downtown and confiscated hundreds of ecstasy pills allegedly smuggled from Malaysia.

“We have spotted more syndicates that are running similar operations in the city. However, catching them red-handed is not an easy job,” said a source at the Rokan Hilir Police station who declined to be named.

The port now serves wooden ferryboats that ply the seas between Bagan Siapiapi and neighboring islands such as Panipahan and Halang, charging passengers from Rp 35,000 and Rp 80,000 per trip.

Not far from the almost-empty port, dozens of docks belong to fishing families still stand — although many of them have not harbored boats for years.

Several years ago, the port offered a ferry service between the city and Port Klang in Malaysia. However, the service ended after it attracted few passengers.

“Many people chose to go to Malaysia from the seaport in Dumai, which has much better facilities,” said Indra Ali, a Bagan Siapiapi port official.

— Photos by Hasym Widhiarto

Pelindo to Pump Additional $77m Into Tanjung Priok as Upgrade Steams Ahead

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, July 29, 2010

PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II plans to invest Rp 700 billion ($77.7 million) more in the next 12 months to revamp Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)

State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II plans to invest Rp 700 billion ($77.7 million) more in the next 12 months to revamp Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta as part of an ongoing upgrade program.

President director Richard J Lino said the company, known as Pelindo II, would use internal funds. It has already allocated Rp 2.7 trillion this year to buy equipment and pay for the initial phase of reclaiming 246 hectares over the next eight years.

“Our customers are global customers and we need to match that by transforming the port into a world-class facility by increasing productivity through expanding capacity, investing in new equipment and giving 24-hour service in all of our ports,” Richard said.

Pelindo II is undertaking a massive program of capital expenditure to upgrade and expand its 12 ports nationwide, including Tanjung Priok, which it hopes to turn into a port capable of being a regional shipping hub.

Richard estimates that the total program will cost Rp 12 trillion for all ports over the next three years, with the total bill for Tanjung Priok’s upgrade coming to $1.6 billion over eight years.

Pelindo II is considering an initial public offering, as well as issuing bonds and seeking bank loans, to finance the projects.

“If we can increase productivity and reduce loading time it would reduce logistics costs,” Richard said. “Logistics costs in Indonesia are among the highest in the world, ranking around 70th. We want to give our customers nearly zero waiting time.”

The World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index ranks Indonesia 75th among 155 economies.

The government has been pushing its seaports and airports this year to prepare for an expected increase in the flow of goods resulting from free-trade deals with China and India.

It said in February that it would spend Rp 10.3 trillion to upgrade 66 seaports and 25 airports this year, compared with Rp 3.27 billion last year.

Pelindo plans to double its productivity within the next eight years, starting with a 90-hectare beach reclamation at Tanjung Priok and buying new cranes. Tanjung Priok and three other national ports began operating 24 hours a day in November.

Govt license sought for Cilamaya port

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung | Fri, 04/30/2010 10:11 AM

The West Java provincial administration has called on the central government to speed up the issuance of the principal license for the development of Cilamaya port in Karawang.

The port, when completed, is expected to be able to ease Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port’s cargo load by about 14 percent.

The head of the West Java Development Planning Agency, Denny Juanda, said the province had not yet received the written license from the central government. “What we have so far is just a verbal assurance and statements in media,” he said on Thursday.

He added the Cilamaya port would mean efficiency for businesses in term of expenses and timing of their product shipment. This in turn will improve their competitiveness, he said.

West Java industries and factories, according to Denny, constituted 6 million twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) a day or some 45 percent of Tanjung Priok’s cargo.

Stagnation at Tanjung Priok, he said, had caused financial losses to the industry due to delays of up to five days in shipping as ships had to queue before being able to leave the port.

He said the compensation the West Java provincial administration had to bear from the delay reached up to Rp 10 billion in 2005 and is predicted to increase to Rp 18.81 billion this year.

“We won’t take the entire industry from Tanjung Priok to Cimalaya. But at least it can serve as the main feeder for the port,” Denny said.

He added that state-run port operator company PT Pelindo II had expressed commitment to manage Cilamaya as a hub-port to reduce the long queue at Tanjung Priok.

A European community consortium, PT Eurocorr Indonesia, worked with Dutch DETEC NV to finish the feasibility study in 2008 and planned to develop Cilamaya as a European-standard port.

JICA (Japan for International Cooperation Agency), he added, had also been funding a master plan study on the development of Cilamaya conducted by the Transportation Ministry scheduled to be completed by July this year.

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s West Java chapter asked that industries had access to an export-import port zone that was void of social problems and traffic congestion.

Chairman Agung Suryamal Sutisno said the port would be important to guarantee the security and speed of the exports to get to the buyers’ hands abroad in time.

He added that Tanjung Priok was no longer feasible as West Java’s main export-import gate as containers first had to travel Jakarta’s city toll roads that were plagued by traffic jams.

The Cilamaya feasibility study shows that it is on average a 15-hour turn-around to Tanjung Priok from Bandung. While to Cimalaya it is only a 10-hour turn-around.

The difference is considered Cilamaya’s competitive advantage.

Violence at Batam Port Targets Foreigners

Jakarta Globe, April 22, 2010

Reports are emerging of violence directed against Indian nationals employed by PT Drydock World Graha in Batam, Riau Islands province.

State news agency Antara is reporting that 41 Indian workers employed by the company were escorted by 400 police, including the armed Mobile Brigade (Brimob), from the company premises after they were attacked by local workers.

At least four of the workers were injured and about 20 vehicles set alight, Antara reported. The offices have also been trashed.

One worker was quoted by Antara as alleging that the unrest was triggered after an Indian national said “Indonesian people were stupid.”

“This is national pride, so we are all angry,” the local, identified as Baim, said.

About 10,000 Indonesians were observed crowding the company premises singing “Great Indonesia” and other patriotic songs, Antara reported.

The National Maritime Institute (Namarin) said the recent violence at Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta was likely to raise shipping insurance costs, and its “international reputation as an export and import gate will plummet.”

The Joint War Committee, a London organization that analyzes shipping risks, had listed maritime regions in Indonesia as “war risk zones” that might pose dangers to domestic or international ships.

Indonesian dock workers set fire to three buildings and torched or vandalized more than 20 vehicles on Thursday after an argument with Indian manager, police said. (Reuters Photo)

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Tanjung Priok Clashes Bad for Image, Business of Indonesia's Ports

Jakarta Globe, April 16, 2010

Wednesday’s rioting and bloodshed at Tanjung Priok, sparked by an apparent misunderstanding over the fate of the historic tomb of an 18th-century religious leader, highlights the volatile fault lines of religion and poverty that have given the country a reputation for instability and incipient chaos.

The televised mayhem in Jakarta’s main port area left government officials and business leaders scrambling to explain what happened, while acknowledging that the area itself is fraught with the potential for further unrest. While the immediate economic impact is limited, the melee added to the port’s already dodgy reputation among international insurers.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said on Wednesday that he hoped the clashes, which claimed the lives of three public order officers and injured more than a hundred, would have no negative repercussions for the economy, according to the Antara news agency. “I hope there will be a settlement soon,” Hatta said.

Noting that Tanjung Priok’s Koja Container Terminal is the main gateway for goods in and out of the country, Hatta urged negotiations to ease the tensions in the neighborhood over the tomb and clarify the intentions — still unclear — that the North Jakarta government has for it.

In another report, however, the National Maritime Institute (Namarin) responded to the violence by raising the risk assessment for doing business in Tanjung Priok Port, a move likely to raise shipping insurance costs, according to Antara.

“The violent clash in Koja [North Jakarta] on Wednesday ... raised the level even higher. In the long run, [Tanjung] Priok Port’s international reputation as an export and import gate will plummet,” Namarin director Siswanto Rusdi said in Jakarta on Thursday, Antara reported.

Siswanto said that in a meeting last November, the Joint War Committee, a London organization that analyzes shipping risks, had listed maritime regions in Indonesia as “war risk zones” that might pose dangers to domestic or international ships.

Siswanto said Tanjung Priok Port had a number of potentially volatile issues, including a land dispute over the Koja Container Terminal that involves hundreds of families.

“The potential is there” for more trouble and social conflict, he said. “The rule of law is uncertain in [Tanjung] Priok.”

Johnson W Sutjipto, chairman of the Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA), said the fighting only halted port operations for a few hours and he hoped there would no lasting fallout. “There was not much of a delay because the Transportation Ministry took immediate steps to respond,” Johnson told the Jakarta Globe.

He said the case would affect a government plan to ask the JWC to cancel its risk alert for Indonesian ports, including Tanjung Priok.

Johnson said ports in Belawan, Balikpapan and Natuna were also categorized as risky because of the potential for social unrest.

Wednesday’s clashes will automatically postpone plans to propose dropping the risk level for all the nation’s ports. As a result of the JWC assessment, Johnson said, shipowners faced higher insurance rates.

Namarin’s Siswanto told Antara that a number of studies had concluded over the years that Tanjung Priok was unfit as a port largely because of the social tensions and complex landholding issues. “The problem is, the government and PT Pelindo II [the port operator] insist on developing Tanjung Priok, leading to efforts to expand the area and acquire more land, which raises the potential of precipitating social conflict.”

Siswanto predicted that as Tanjung Priok’s competitiveness decreased, potential investors would be reluctant to transport their goods through the port.

“I heard indications that foreign investors in TPK [the Koja Container Terminal], like Hutchison Whampoa, have taken steps to leave Tanjung Priok,” he said.

The immediate problem, said Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, chief researcher at the state-run Danareksa Research Institute, is for the government to calm the community.

“If the government continues with repressive actions, it will send a bad signal. Authorities opted for mediation, which is wise,” Purbaya said.

The stock market did not fall after the fighting, Purbaya noted. “Investors think this is only a local incident. This is not something like what is happening in Thailand.” 

JG, Antara

Many Import Documents are Forgeries

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 31 March, 2010 | 12:41 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Directorate General of Customs and Excise have found numerous violations using fictitious Certificates of Origin following the free trade agreement. As of early this year, at least 53 cases with false certificates of origin have been found in Tanjung Perak Harbor, Surabaya and Belawan Harbor, Medan.

Customs and Excise director-general, Thomas Sugijata, said that the findings consisted of 32 cases in Tanjung Perak and 21 cases in Belawan. They were exposed following checks carried early this year on goods unloaded in the two harbors.

The modus is allegedly to claim imported goods originating from countries which have not established a free trade agreement to come from those which have signed the pact. The aim is not having to pay tariffs.

According to Thomas, it is possible that similar cases occurred in other major harbors. “We have instructed that an investigation be carried as of early this year, especially on goods getting zero percent tariffs,” he said at a press conference in the headquarters of the Directorat General of Custom and Excise yesterday.

He was not able to provide information on the origin of the goods using the fake certificates, but he revealed that most of them used Chinese certificates of origin.

Indonesia has signed a free trade agreement with ASEAN countries as well as with China, Korea and Japan. “The tariff facilities will not be given to those who are not eligible. We will not allow this happen,” he said.

The Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Muhaimin Iskandar, said that until now, there has been no significant impact following the launching of the free trade agreement.

“The Manpower Office chief has been instructed to keep on monitoring developments as a result of the China-ASEAN free trade agreement,” said Muhaimin in Bandung yesterday.

The Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said that Indonesia does not plant to sign a new free trade agreement in the near future. “More time is neededfor socialization,” said Mari in a separate occasion last week.

Mari explained that the socialization process carried out is about the positive side of free trade agreement. “We must also provide information about concerns (on the negative impacts), “she said.

Indonesia is still exploring the possibility of having a free trade agreement with Australia, New Zealand and Europe, which are grouped under the Europe Free Trade Association. Specifically on free trade between Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, the government has just completed a feasibility study.

Even though there has been no agreement yet, according to Mari, the process leading to free trade with the three countries is being prepared. “At this stage, we have involved the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” said Mari.

AGOENG WIJAYA | ALWAN RIDHA RAMDANI | EKA UTAMI APRILIA

Pelindo I to spend Rp 1.3t in new investment

Nani Alfrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/15/2010 11:48 AM

PT Pelindo I, one of the country’s four state-owned port operators, will spend up to Rp 1.3 trillion (US$139 million) this year to improve several ports under its management, a senior executive said.

Bambang Eka Cahyana, Pelindo I’s director of commercial and business development, said last week that port facilities needed to be further improved to enable them to handle more cargo shipment that was expected to increase significantly following the implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) in early January.

He said ACFTA would increase not only imports but also exports of non-oil commodities from Indonesia to other ASEAN members and China.

“This year we allocated Rp 1.3 trillion in capex [capital expenditure], which is higher than the Rp 149 billion last year,” he said, adding that about Rp 800 billion of the total funds would be sourced internally, with the rest from bank loans.

Pelindo I operates and manages several major ports in North Sumatra and Riau, including Belawan Port and Belawan International Container Terminal (BICT), Dumai Port and Pekanbaru Port.

It also supervises 16 small ports such as Pelita Pantai Port and Sungai Duku Port in Riau.

Bambang said that this year, the company would spend Rp 700 billion to purchase new port equipment.

“This year we plan to buy two container cranes and five rubber-tired gantries. We hope to be able to operate five cranes and ten gantries by the second half of 2011,” he said, adding that in 2009, the company purchased three cranes and two gantries.

According to Bambang, Pelindo I will need more funds to purchase such equipment because they were expensive. “A crane costs $9.5 million, while a gantry costs $ 2 million,” he said.

The company will also purchase three new tugboats and two scout ships to speed up docking activities. Bambang said that the price of a new tugboat could reach Rp 25 billion while a new scout boat could cost Rp 2 billion.

Apart from procuring supporting equipment for the ports, Pelindo I plans to expand capacity at BICT port from 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 800,000.