House Pushes for Stricter Sailing Permit Rules to Boost Maritime Safety

A member of the House of Representatives (DPR) has called for the strengthening of regulations governing the issuance of Sailing Approvals (SPB) to improve maritime safety following a series of accidents over the past year. Hamka B. Kady, a member of Commission V, stated that evaluations of recent accidents must lead to improvements in shipping safety governance. He proposed revising the Minister of Transportation Regulation No. 28 of 2022 concerning procedures for issuing SPB to align it with Law No. 17 of 2008 on Shipping, as amended by Law No. 66 of 2024. Currently, the regulation stipulates that an SPB is issued based on a Master Sailing Declaration, passenger and cargo manifests, a crew list, checklist compliance, and other ship documents. Hamka argued that this mechanism should be strengthened by requiring a physical inspection of the vessel before the permit is issued to ensure comprehensive seaworthiness. He noted that the amended Shipping Law mandates harbourmasters to oversee ship seaworthiness, port safety, embarkation and debarkation, loading and unloading, the transport of dangerous goods, and to delay the departure of vessels that do not meet safety requirements. Therefore, he said, safety oversight must combine administrative checks with on-site verification of the vessel’s condition. Hamka also urged increased field inspections, capacity building and integrity of harbourmasters, the use of digital technology in ship monitoring, and consistent enforcement of sanctions against safety violations. He said these steps are necessary to build a safer and more reliable shipping system while supporting inter-regional connectivity and the smooth distribution of national logistics.