Owners oppose Malacca levy
ASEAN ship owners have opposed “any form of levy” for ships using the Malacca and Singapore Straits. But they are supporting efforts for setting up a mechanism for voluntary funding towards the maintenance and renewal of aids of navigation as agreed at an IMO meeting in Kuala Lumpur in September. The Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Associations (FASA), which held its AGM in Bangkok this week, however, noted that ships that trade to the Malacca and Singapore littoral states are already paying port and light dues for maintenance of navigational aids. The meeting also noted that while the Malacca Strait has been removed from the list of war risk areas by the London Lloyd’s Market Association’s Joint War Committee (JWC), “several areas” continue to be listed. These include southern Thailand, southern Philippines and Jakarta port, FASA Secretary-General Daniel Tan told Fairplay. “As there are no reports of any terrorist threat to ships in those areas, FASA therefore strongly urges the JWC to remove them from its list immediately, FASA has urged.