Shipping routes off Cilacap endangered

Shipping routes off Cilacap endangered

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Cilacap, Central Java

Shipping routes in the waters off Cilacap, Central Java, have
recently been disrupted by fishermen who persist in casting their
nets along designated shipping lanes.

Very often incoming or outward bound ships at the city's
Pelabuhan III Indonesian Tanjung Intan port and the special port
for state oil and gas company Pertamina are postponed due to the
casting of fishing nets along the final five-kilometer route to
the ports.

Cilacap Pertamina's spokesman, Husni Banser, told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday that the situation had tarnished the city
port's image and could lead to international shipping companies
blacklisting it.

There are six tankers loading and unloading at Pertamina's
private port every day.

He cited the tankers as an example.

"If we wait for the fishermen to clear their fishing nets it
would take a long time and we would have to pay the docking fee
of the tankers in the port, which could amount to Rp 125
million," he said.

According to him, many captains of foreign ships have
complained of the situation. "This has really concerned us. In
the long run we could be blacklisted by international shipping
companies," he said.

He said if the tankers decided to plow through the fishing
nets without waiting for them to be cleared, the fishermen would
throng the state company's office and demand compensation.

He said that one fishing net cost about Rp 5 million. "Often
they do it. We suspect that they intentionally do it to get the
compensation. That causes many people to jokingly ask whether the
fishermen want to net the fish or the ships," he said.

Husni noted that at least 600 fishermen fished along the
route, casting at least 160 fishing nets. One fishing net has a
width of about 70 meters, while the route's width is about 100
meters.

Directional signals, which are very important to direct ships
to and from the port at night, are also often stolen. "Without
the signals they cannot pass the route and have to be guided," he
said.

Pertamina, he said, had twice met the fishermen to explain the
importance of the route for shipping, but to no avail.

"We hope the local administration will organize other meetings
with the fishermen to convince them about the problem," said
Husni.