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Malaysia says Malacca Strait war-risk rating will affect economies
Kuala Lumpur, Aug 1, 2006 Listing the Malacca Strait as one of the world's most dangerous waterways will affect the economies of nations it borders and is unjustified, top Malaysian officials said Tuesday. Malaysia's Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy blasted the decision by influential insurer Lloyd's to list the strait as a war-risk area, a move which increases insurance premiums borne by shipping companies. "Any increase in premiums will inevitably be passed to the consumers finally," Chan told reporters at a maritime conference. "That will make the handling of the containers, let's say at the ports, more expensive. That indirectly will make our ports less competitive so all this will have a negative impact, a chain effect on the economy." The Lloyd's Market Association's Joint War Committee decided in July last year to add the piracy-prone strait to a list of 20 areas worldwide -- alongside Iraq and Lebanon -- that it deemed security threats to shipping. The director-general of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), Cheah Kong Wai, said the impact of the listing was hard to gauge but there had already been shipping industry complaints about higher premiums. "Definitely from the industry we've been told there is an impact," said Cheah. The transport minister criticised what he said were overly negative perceptions of the Malacca Strait, as well an international "obsession" with security in the waterway. He said Lloyd's had added to "the grim scenario" and that the insurer had failed to adequately explain its surprise decision. "At the very least, it should provide clearly what are its requirements for the delisting, instead of keeping the littoral states guessing," Chan said, referring to Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore which border the strategic waterway. "There must be transparency on this issue. Otherwise, the increased insurance premiums would inevitably impact on the littoral states economies," he said. Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have taken responsibility for security in the strait, launching aggressive joint sea and air patrols to thwart piracy. In the latest incidents, pirates last month attacked two UN-chartered ships as well as a Japanese-operated bulk carrier in waters off Indonesia'a tsunami-hit Aceh province in the north of the strait. In 2005, some 62,621 vessels passed through the waterway, which is the main passage for transporting oil from the Middle East to East Asian economies. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Japan starts providing quake early-alert service
Tokyo, Aug 1, 2006 Japan on Tuesday started providing a world-first earthquake early warning service, giving a few seconds notice to railways, power plants and other sensitive sites before the earth rumbles. |
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