Indonesia chosen as IMO member

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)