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Contrary
to general impression that tankers
constitute the largest category of
vessels transiting Straits of
Malacca, it has been now confirmed
that containerships are the largest
group of vessels that use the
world’s most important and crowded
straits.
According
to the Director-General of the
Marine Department of Peninsular
Malaysia, Captain Raja Malik
Saripulazan, container ships make up
more than 30 per cent of the vessel
traffic, demolishing a long held
view that tankers were the main
users of the straits.
The
increase in the movement of
containerships in the Straits is not
entirely inconsistent with shipping
and port developments in the region
as reflected in the emergence of new
ports like Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas,
Westport, at Port Klang as well as
increased vessel traffic noted by
Northport in Port Klang and
Singapore port.
Raja
Malik, who revealed the development
at a tea-talk in Northport recently,
said the findings raises some
important and new issues and
concerns relating to safety of
navigation of vessels in the
straits.
From
data gathered by the International
Maritime Organisation-sanctioned
ship reporting system implemented at
Port Klang with the installation of
the Vessel Traffic System recently,
a total traffic movement of 59,314
vessels were reported last year.
Raja
Malik said a total of 20,010
containerships, making up 33 per
cent of the total vessels transiting
the straits, reported to the VTS
last year, an increase from 32 per
cent noted in 2000.
According
to Raja Malik the data gathered for
the first quarter of this year also
revealed that containerships still
account for 33 per cent of the total
vessel traffic in the Straits, thus
confirming the trend the changes in
the composition of traffic.
He
also revealed that there is a sudden
and strong trend in the movement of
tankers, notably Very Large Crude
Carriers (VLCCs) which he suspects
was due to the emergence of the
longer and wide beam VLCCs.
In
the past he said the deep draft
VLCCs would not be able to keep safe
passage in the Straits and therefore
used other waterways, including the
Lombok Straits in Indonesia between
the East-West trade.
VLCCs
made up 5 per cent of the traffic
with the movement of 3.163 tankers
in 2000 and in the first quarter of
this year a movement of 1,066 VLCCs
(making up 5 per cent of the total
traffic) had been recorded.
Raja
Malik said there are separate issues
on safety of navigation to be
addressed for the fast moving
containerships that had short
deadline to meet in specific windows
at ports of call and the VLCCs that
carried large quantities of crude
oil in the straits.
“We
are concerned with the demands the
containerships to transit the
straits quickly to meet their
schedule as we are also with the
movement of VLCCs which has limited
maneuverability in the straits,”
he said.
The
Straits of Malacca, an international
waterway responsibility to ensure
its safety is primarily on Malaysia,
Indonesia and Singapore, is at its
widest passage about 200 miles while
narrowest width is less than 9
miles, near One Fathom Bank, north
of Singapore.
Vessel
traffic movement in the Straits of
Malacca is governed by the Traffic
Separation Scheme (TSS), the longest
ship routing system in the world
that provides for separate lanes for
ships moving southbound and
northbound.
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