Ships transiting the Malacca Straits may soon be charged a toll due to the rising security costs incurred by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in keeping one of the world's busiest waterways open and relatively safe.

Over the past year, these littoral states have increased joint air and sea patrols of the strait in response to the increase in piracy incidents that was peaking just prior to the tsunami of December 2004. It is also likely that their security action was prompted by the decision just over one year ago by Lloyds' Joint War Committee (JWC) to list the Straits as a 'war zone' because of the high incidence and seriousness of the attacks being made on merchant shipping.

Last week, and in the wake of the latest report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) that monitors global piracy incidents, the JWC decided to remove the 'war zone' listing in view of "a significant improvement" in security within the Straits. Statistics show that attacks in the area have now fallen to their lowest level since 1999.

Malaysia, which had been a vociferous opponent of the 'war risk' categorisation, had again called for its lifting when the IMB published its latest figures and following the subsequent relaxation by the JWC, welcomed the decision taken. However, Syed Hamid Albar, Malaysian Foreign Minister, said that his country, Singapore and Indonesia had all spent heavily to improve security and that other nations "should now contribute" to the cost of security.

While there was strong opposition within the industry for such a toll when it was previously suggested in the 1990s, it appears to be less contentious today with a general acceptance that such a charge to defray the costs of security is reasonable and would certainly be less than 'war risk' surcharges by insurers.

However, the practicalities of enforcement remain to be specified and could be difficult. One proposal being studied is the involvement of Flag States in the implementation of charges.

Cheah Kong Wai, Director-General of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, said, "So far, the positive response is a verbal one, where users of the Strait say the littoral states must come up with a mechanism and we will look at it."

If such a proposal is implemented, it is likely that China and Japan would be most affected since 80 per cent of their energy supplies pass through the 900-km Strait that links Asia with the Middle East and Europe. This amounts to about 40 per cent of global sea trade that is carried by some 50,000 vessels each year.

Notwithstanding the latest decision by the JWC concerning the Malacca Straits, a statement from Lloyds said ships calling at north-east ports on the Indonesian island of Sumatra would still be subject to 'war-risk' surcharges due to ongoing attacks blamed on Aceh separatist rebels.

Furthermore, despite the frequency of increased security patrols and the improvement in security, the IMB still warns that piracy has not been eliminated within the Malacca Straits, with four attacks in July and one so far reported this month.

Marlo warns against complacency

The Bahrain-based US Maritime Liaison Office (Marlo) has warned seafarers that despite a recent significant decrease in piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, the risk of attack remains, particularly for commercial vessels calling at Somali ports and for fishing vessels that operate in inshore waters.

Commercial vessels transiting the sea lanes off the coast of Somalia should also continue to be vigilant and be ready to report any pirate activity to the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre.

The last pirate attack reported in Somali waters occurred on April 4 this year. Subsequently two vessels, the M/T Lin 1 and the F/V Dong Won 628 were released leaving no hostages in captivity.

Tidewater sells 14 tugs

Tidewater Inc., the world's largest operator of offshore support vessels, has said it has entered into an agreement with Crosby Marine Transportation, LLC to sell 14 of its offshore tugs. Twelve of the tugs currently constitute Tidewater's total domestic fleet. In addition, two tugs scheduled to return from international assignments in the Middle East are included in the transaction.

The sale of 10 tugs is expected to close by end-August, with the sale of the other four scheduled to close over the next four months as current charter contracts to which the four tugs are subject expire.

The combined sales proceeds of $44.8 million will result in an estimated pre-tax gain of around $34 million and Tidewater says that the sale should have a negligible effect on future earnings capacity.

- The writer is a Dubai-based marine consultant.