16th Interim Meeting of the ASF SNEC

March 19th, 2009

1. The 16th Interim Meeting of the Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) Safe Navigation & Environment Committee (SNEC) was held in Singapore on 17th March 2009. It was hosted by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA).

2. The meeting was attended by 24 representatives of shipowner associations from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and ASEAN, as represented by the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Associations (FASA) which is composed of the shipowner associations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Mr Wang Cheng, the ASF Secretary General also attended the meeting. A representative of the Indian National Shipowners Association attended the meeting as an observer for the first time.

3. Mr. S.S. Teo, President of Singapore Shipping Association chaired the SNEC meeting on behalf of FASA.

4. During the meeting, the Committee considered and discussed various current issues concerning the safe navigation of ships and the protection of the marine environment. The following is a summary of the discussion on some of the important issues:

• Piracy & Armed Robbery

The Committee noted with concern that the IMB reports an 11.4% increase in incidence of piracy and armed robbery around the world for 2008, with 293 attacks reported in 2008 as compared with 263 in 2007.

Africa continues to rank as the most dangerous region, with 189 attacks reported, accounting for 64.5% of the world’s total number of attacks. In particular, the waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden remain as the world’s most dangerous accounting for 58.7% or 111 of the attacks. Of these 111 attacks, 42 merchant vessels were hijacked along with their crew and cargo.

Piracy and Armed robbery in the Asian region, although slightly reduced from previous year, accounted for 96 or about 30% of the world’s total. Of these 96 attacks, 66 were petty robberies whilst the ships were at anchor or berthed alongside.

16th SNEC Press Release –17 March 2009 2

In view of the deteriorating situation off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, the Committee encouraged its members to cooperate with and abide by the advisories and guidance issued by the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA)1.

The Committee expressed its deep appreciation to those governments which are providing naval and air assets to patrol the waters off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, and to those other Governments which are considering similar actions.

In light of current economic conditions, the Committee expressed concern that there might be an accompanying surge in the number of piracy and armed robbery attacks around the world. In this respect, the Committee urged all governments and littoral states to strengthen and increase their naval and air surveillance to deter any potential threats of pirate attacks. The Committee also urged all ship masters to maintain full vigilance and to adhere to established best management practices to deter these pirate attacks.

• Enhancement of Safety, Security and Environment Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

The Committee reaffirmed its support for the Cooperative Mechanism, which comprises a Cooperation Forum, a projects’ Coordination Committee and the voluntary Aids to Navigation Fund.

The Committee welcomed contributions from various States and industry stakeholders to the Navigation Fund, particularly the recent contribution by the Japanese Shipowners’ Association.

The Meeting further expressed its willingness and strong commitment to participate actively in the Cooperation Forum to enhance safety, security and environment protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

• Safe Transport of Containers by Sea – Guidelines on Best Practices

The Committee noted with concern the MAIB accident reports on the Annabella and MSC Napoli, and in this respect, welcomes the development of the “Best Practices Guidelines for Safe Transport of Containers by Sea” published by the International Chamber of Shipping and the World Shipping Council.

• MARPOL Annex VI & Greenhouse Gases

The Committee applauded the adoption of the revisions to MARPOL2 Annex VI at the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 58th Session3 held last
1 MSCHOA was set up by the European Union as part of a European Security and Defence Policy initiative to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa.
2 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
3 MEPC 58th Session held on 6 – 10 Oct 2008
16th SNEC Press Release –17 March 2009 3 October. The main changes to MARPOL Annex VI would see a progressive reduction in emissions of sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter from ships.

The Committee also took note of developments relating to greenhouse gases (GHG) from ships arising from that meeting. In particular, the Committee discussed the development of an energy efficiency design index (EEDI) for new ships, an energy efficiency operational indicator (EEOI), a Ship Efficiency Management Plan (SEMP), which is a voluntary code of best practice for energy-efficient operations, and Market-Based Instruments (MBI).

With rising concern and greater awareness of global warming and its effects on climate change and rising sea levels, the Committee fully supports the IMO as the forum to discuss the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, in light of the IMO’s and the industry’s full commitment to reducing GHG emissions through realistic and pragmatic solutions.
5. The members of the Committee expressed their appreciation to the SSA for hosting the 16th Interim Meeting of the SNEC in Singapore.

The Asian Shipowners Forum consists of 7 Shipowners’ Associations in the Asian region, being those from the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners Associations (FASA), which are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

The aims of the ASF are to promote the interests of the Asian shipowning industries. Between annual ASF meetings, the ongoing work is carried out by five “S” Committees; the Shipping Economics Review Committee, the Seafarers Committee, the Ship Recycling Committee, the Safe Navigation and Environment Committee, and the Ship Insurance and Liability Committee. It has been estimated that ASF Owners and Managers control and operate around 50% of the world’s cargo carrying fleet. For further information on this Press Release, please contact Mr. Daniel Tan, Secretary of the Committee at the address shown on the Letterhead.

Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF)