THE Singapore Maritime Foundation has added its voice to the campaign for the Joint War Committee to remove the Malacca Strait from its list of war risk areas, commissioning a report from a London-based think-tank.
The industry promotional body has obtained a report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies on the threat of maritime terrorism in the Strait.
This report has since been submitted to the JWC of the Lloyd's Market Association in a bid to persuade it to remove the strait from the list.
THE Singapore Maritime Foundation has added its voice to the campaign for the Joint War Committee to remove the Malacca Strait from its list of war risk areas, commissioning a report from a London-based think-tank.
The industry promotional body has obtained a report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies on the threat of maritime terrorism in the Strait.
This report has since been submitted to the JWC of the Lloyd's Market Association in a bid to persuade it to remove the strait from the list.
The committee is to meet in January to review its list of areas classified as a war risk.
Although the contents of the report are confidential, it is understood to say that there is not a major threat of maritime terrorism in the busy shipping lane.
Regional shipowners and governments were stunned when the JWC classified the Malacca Strait as a war risk in June and have campaigned constantly to have the decision changed, fearing much higher costs for shipping in the region.
Some underwriters have increased premiums for vessels passing through the Strait.
The SMF felt that higher insurance premiums could affect not just shipowners but also other parts of the industry it represents such as shipyards and ports, as these could result in shipping companies taking there business elsewhere.
SMF executive director Teh Kong Leong said that the success of regional authorities in forcing pirates to abandon the chemical tanker Steadfast, hijacked last week after leaving the port of Palembang, and the disarming of the Free Aceh Movement were positive signs that the security situation was improving.
Although it has been long considered a black spot for piracy, there were no such attacks reported in the Malacca Strait in the third quarter of this year.
