ISSA protests government regulation on shipping

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Shipping Agencies Association (ISAA) has called on the government to annul a controversial regulation that requires every agency of a foreign shipping company in the country to own, at the minimum, a 5,000-ton Indonesian-flagged vessel.

"More than 1,300 local agencies of foreign shipping companies will certainly go bankrupt and more than 65,000 employees will face mass dismissal if the government goes ahead with its plan to enforce the regulation from Oct. 5, 2001," Capt. Anthon Sihombing told a press conference here on Monday.

He accused domestic shipping companies of being behind the controversial 1999 regulation as part of their efforts to create a monopoly in the industry.

"Only state-owned PT Pelni and Djakarta Lloyd own 5,000-ton vessels. These two ship owners are trying to set up a monopoly, which is against the law," he asserted.

He said the regulation was issued by former president B.J. Habibie weeks before he gave up his bid to retain office in October 1999 in an apparent attempt to sell ships produced by state-owned PT PAL in Surabaya, East Java.

"It's very strange that there are still some people who are trying to engage in monopolistic practices despite the current mood of reform," Anthon said.

He also attacked Tjuk Sukardiman, Director General for Sea Transportation, whom he criticized as being unprofessional in performing his duties.

"We are suspicious that Sukardiman knows nothing about international shipping regulations," he said.

Budi Mulyono, chief of the ISAA's legal affairs department, said the ISAA would file a lawsuit with the State Administrative Court if the government declined to revoke the regulation.

"The ISAA has recruited lawyers to accompany us in court," he said.

One of the ISAA's lawyers, Kristopel Butarbutar, said the government regulation must be struck down as it conflicted with commercial law.

"Indonesia has laws on trade and sea transportation but they do not require shipping agencies to own ships of a certain tonnage," he said.

He added that Indonesia was the only country which had issued such a regulation.

He said that besides suing the Director General of Sea Transportation in the administrative court, the ISAA would ask the Supreme Court to review the regulation.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Seamen's Association (KPI) urged the government to take action against a rival KPI established and directed by Iskandar B. Illahude, a senior official with the transportation and telecommunications ministry. Iskandar set up the rival association when he was not reelected as KPI chairman at its extraordinary congress late last month.

"The rival KPI is illegal. It represents no seafarers and is not recognized by the government nor the International Transportation Federation," Hanafie Rustandi, the newly-elected chairman of KPI said.

He said the government should take action against Iskandar and his associates as they were running a recruitment agency through the rival association. This was against the ILO convention on freedom of association, he said.

He said Iskandar, Director of Classification at the Directorate of Sea Transportation, had set up the rival association as part of an effort to protect his recruitment business.(rms)