14th Co-operation Forum Meeting, Indonesia Discusses Autonomous Maritime

Director of Shipships and Marine Affairs of the Ministry of Transportation Hartanto. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Transportation)

JAKARTA The Indonesian government's 14th Co-operation Forum (CF) meeting delivered an explanation regarding Maritime Autonomous Surface Vessels (MASS) by raising the issue of Challenge and Opportunities Facing Maritime Autonomous Era.

The 14th Co-operation Forum (CF) meeting was held at the Singapore Merchant Court at Clarke Quay Paradox, Singapore since Monday 31 July until today 1 August.

The Director of Shipships and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transportation Hartanto said that the Indonesian delegation also paid special attention to the issue of decarbonization, Ballast Water Management and Oil Spill Management.

Seperti yang telah kamicatkan, pengembangan Maritime Autonomous Surface Vessels (MASS) dan decarbonisasi perpadahan telah menjadi isu yang muncul di sektor maritim global yang perlu kita fokuskan, katanya dalam keterangan resmi, Selasa, 1 Agustus.

Hartanto said that Indonesia's condition as one of the largest seafarers emitters in the world has its own challenges if the shipping world shifts to Maritime Autonomous, where this technology will reduce the number of crew members on board because ship control will mostly be carried out remotely from outside the ship or on land.

In addition, he continued, the International Maritime Organization itself has also targeted regulations related to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships to be enforced starting January 1, 2028.

Hartanto reaffirmed Indonesia's commitment to cooperate with Coastal Countries, User Countries, and other relevant stakeholders under the framework of Cooperative Mechanism in increasing collaboration to achieve common goals.

"I believe we can resolve all issues of common interest in the Malacca Strait and the Singapore Strait, including the latest issues, by strengthening coordination and cooperation, not only through this Forum, but also by implementing the projects that we have started," Hartanto said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Kenavigasian, Capt. Budi Mantoro stated that the 14th CF meeting discussed several things, including Initiatives to Enhance Safety of Navigation in SOMS, Technology to Enhance Navigation Safety, Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, Maritime Decarbination, Ballast Water Management, Oil Spill Management.

The Co-operation Forum (CF) is an annual meeting under the framework of Cooperative Mechanism which is carried out in turns by three Coastal countries in alphabetical order.

CF plays an important role because it is a meeting forum for echelon I / high level ( maritime administration) officials from three Coastal Countries (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) and Selat User Countries, Associations and International Organizations.

"The goal is to increase dialogue and discussions on issues that develop in the field of shipping safety and maritime environmental protection in the Malacca Strait and Singapore," he explained.

For your information, the Co-operation Forum meeting will be followed by 2 other meetings, namely the Tripartite Technical Expert Working Group (TTEG) and the Project Coordination Committee (PCC) attended by echelon II level officials from each Coastal State, to discuss proposals and implementations of projects that have been submitted and approved at the Co-operation Forum meeting.