In 1993, crude oil accounted for 58% of the interregional cargo tonnage flowing through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore7. Most of it came from the Middle East and went to Japan, with Southeast Asia as a secondary source and the newly industrializing economies as the number two destination. Finished goods, including automobiles, machinery and consumer products, accounted for over 60% of the value of cargoes passing through the Straits.
Japanese interests owned 27.6 % of the tonnage passing through the Straits in 1993, four times more than any other nation. Greece was second with 6.5%, and the United States was third with 6.2% of the tonnage. The rest of the top ten owning nations are divided between maritime nations, such as the United Kingdom and Norway, and Asian nations, such as Singapore and the Republic of Korea. The majority of owners in large states, e.g., Japan, Greece and the United States, use flags of convenience. As much as 90% of the Malacca/Singapore Straits shipping traffic is purely foreign flagged. Norway, Taiwan, and Malaysia are exceptions.
The current common concern of littoral straits states everywhere regarding shipping is oil discharged during routine passage, and accidental oil spills. Although marine casualties are the most dramatic source of oil pollution, routine discharge of bilge water, cleansing of ballast and oil tanks, and leaks are also important sources of oil pollution. Oil spill incidents in the 1970s stimulated agreement on an Under Keel Clearance(UKC)of 3.5 metres for vessels with a draft of more than 15 metres, and the establishment of a Traffic Separation Scheme(TSS)in three critical areas in the straits. The TSS was adopted by the International Maritime Organisation(IMO) – the present recognized arbiter in such matters – and came into effect in May 1980. It was supplemented by a Japan-supplied US$3 million Revolving Fund for the payment of compensation and damages arising out of pollution of the marine environment caused by oil spills. The TSS was initially very effective in reducing accidents in the straits.
However, between 1977 and 1992, there were 72 shipping casualties in the Malacca/Singapore Straits, with 60% occurring since 19878. Collisions and groundings were the most common types of maritime casualties(Table 2). Although general cargo vessels account for the largest percentage of casualties, it is the number of tanker casualties(17%)that is of greatest concern to the littoral States because of their potential to cause serious pollution damage to the environment. There have been 54 such oil spill incidents in the Straits since 1975(Table 3). Major incidents resulting in large oil spills include the Showa Maru, which prompted the imposition of the UKC and TSS; the Diego Silang; and the Nagasaki Spirit. The combined spill from these three incidents alone was more than 26,000 metric tons of oil.
At the end of 1992, two major accidents occurred at the northern entrance of the Straits re-alerting the Straits States to this very real hazard. The response was a series of activities including Malaysia’s convening of a National Conference on the Strait of Malacca on 11 November 1993 and an international conference on the same subject from 14-15 June 1994. Then in mid-October 1997, the Straits suffered from the largest oil spill to date—about 28,500 tonnes of heavy marine fuel—from the loaded eastbound tanker Evoikos which collided with the empty westbound tanker Orapin Global9. This spill was about the same size as that from the Amoco Cadiz. A 20.5-mile long slick drifted into Malaysian and Indonesian waters. Some 16 agencies, 60 vessels and a team of Japanese experts were engaged in the round-the-clock battle to fight the oil spill10.
At the time of the incident, visibility at 8 km was good, the shipping lane was not congested, and the port’s navigation equipment was functioning perfectly. The Vessel Traffic System had warned the westbound empty tanker Orapin Global that it was in the wrong lane and warned both ships three times that they were on a collision course. The managers of the Thai-registered Orapin Global claimed that the eastbound Evoikos cut across the lane for westbound traffic at a narrow angle, rather than at a right angle as required by the TSS. The captains of the two tankers were arrested by Singapore authorities and charged with reckless navigation and endangering human lives(failure to take appropriate action to avoid the collision and failure to reduce speed to prevent serious damage)11. And the Orapin Global was impounded by Malaysian authorities when it was found illegally anchored in its waters. But the litany of disaster continues. In early October of 2000, the tanker Natuna Sea ran aground in Indonesian waters about 8 km southeast of Singapore spilling at least 7000 metric tons of oil12.
