Malacca Strait altered after tsunami: Report<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
The depth in certain stretches of the narrow Malacca Strait, one
\nof the world's busiest shipping lanes, has changed slightly
\nfollowing the huge earthquake and killer waves which struck off
\nIndonesia last month, according to the Malaysian navy.<\/p>\n
But the busy strait is safe for navigation as the changes were
\n\"insignificant\", Assistant Chief of Staff (plans and operations)
\nKamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin told Monday's edition of The Star.<\/p>\n
\"In certain areas, the change is just 0.2 meters while in the
\ndeep areas where the depth is about 100 meters, the difference is
\nbetween one to two meters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"A ship normally has a draft of six meters and there is
\nnormally 30 meters below the draft. So there is no possibility
\nthat a ship will run aground,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The narrow waterway, which separates peninsular Malaysia from
\nthe Indonesian island of Sumatra and links the Indian Ocean with
\nthe South China Sea, is used by some 50,000 ships a year carrying
\na third of world trade and half its oil supplies.<\/p>\n
Kamarulzaman said the findings were based on surveys by the
\nnavy's hydrographic team in two separate locations -- the
\nnorthern channel approaching Malaysia's Penang port and the
\nstrategic \"choke point \" off One Fathom Bank -- following the
\nDec. 26 tsunami disaster.<\/p>\n
\"Even though the initial results did highlight changes in
\ndepth in some areas, the difference is (too) insignificant to
\ncause any concerns. Positions of navigational aids such as buoys
\nand underwater wrecks within the surveyed areas have not
\nchanged,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra's northwestern coast
\non Dec. 26 was so powerful it made the Earth wobble on its axis
\nand permanently altered the regional map, possibly shifting some
\nsmall islands as much as 20 meters, U.S. geophysicists said.<\/p>\n
The quake released huge tsunamis which devastated several
\nIndian Ocean coastlines and are estimated to have killed more
\nthan 286,000 people. The Sumatra island province of Aceh was the
\nhardest hit area.<\/p>\n
The strait, 800 kilometers long and between 50 and 320
\nkilometers wide, has long been the haunt of pirates but the
\ntsunamis had put an end, at least temporarily, to pirate attacks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malacca-strait-altered-after-tsunami-report-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}