Indonesia chosen as IMO member

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has been selected to sit as a member on the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO).

A statement by the Indonesian Embassy in London said that Indonesia was chosen during the 21st conference of the organization, held in London from Nov. 15 through Nov. 26.

IMO is the United Nations watchdog for maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from ships.

Indonesia joined the organization in 1960.

IMO last month called for ships passing through the narrow Strait of Malacca to be equipped with an automatic identification system to prevent accidents.

IMO said ships fitted with transponders could send out information such as the ship's name, position, speed and course when asked under a mandatory reporting system being implemented in the strait.

A new mandatory ship reporting system was introduced in the Strait of Malacca in December 1998, but its effectiveness depends very much on the compliance by the estimated 30,000 vessels that ply the busy waterway every year.

The system was implemented by the littoral states Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. (byg)