An agency to prevent oil-spills to be established
Wednesday, December 13 2000 - 03:30 AM WIB
The Indonesian Maritime Council is preparing the establishment of an independent agency for the prevention and handling of oil spills at Indonesian sea.
The council's chairman Sarwono Kusumaatmaja said the establishment of the new agency was to anticipate oil spills from oil tankers that are plying Indonesian routes, so that Indonesia would be able to handle oil spill problems quickly and effectively.
"So far, the handling of oil spills is not handled by those who spill oil or the polluter but by governmental related institutions, such as the Department of Sea Transportation, state oil firm Pertamina and the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal)," he said in Jakarta on Tuesday (Dec. 12).
On the other hand, Sarwono revealed that a number of Indonesian oil firms paid regular fees to a Singapore agency dealing with oil spills, called EARL.
In establishing the independent agency to handle the oil spills, Sarwono noted that his party would coordinate with all related institutions, including the Ministry of Communications and Telecommunications, Bapedal, Pertamina, and environmental experts.
According to Sarwono, the agency would conduct a number of activities including prevention operations and also oil spills handling, as well as give consulting services on systems and procedures of oil spill handling and other services, including compensation claims.
The agency would also help oil companies in handling oil spills, including in providing equipment for oil spill handling and prevention measures.
"In its works, this agency will refer to all prevailing regulations that govern about pollution created by oil spills from oil tankers and others," he said.
The regulations included all international conventions that had been ratified by Indonesia, and all laws and regulations in Indonesia pertaining to environmental management, said Sarwono. (*)