RI lifts ban on coal export to Philippines
Tuesday, August 30 2016 - 11:38 AM WIB
The government of Indonesia has agreed to lift coal export ban to the Philippines following request from the latter country?s government.
According to a copy of a telegram issued by the Directorate General of Sea Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation to port authorities in the country, obtained by Petromindo.com on Tuesday, shipping permit for vessels transporting coal to the Philippines can be issued on three main conditions.
The July 28 telegram said that the conditions are: the vessels must follow the determined routes, can be equipped with weaponry in line with existing regulations, and can sail in convoy to the Philippines waters.
The Directorate General of Sea Transportation issued a decree in June instructing port authorities in the country to suspend issuance of shipping permit for vessels transporting coal to the Philippines after Indonesian tug boats were attacked by the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, who took hostage some of the crews.
The suspension of the coal export to the Philippines had not caused much impact as annual export volume to the Southeast Asian nation is relatively small.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, coal export volume to the Philippines last year totaled 7.6 million tons, down 3.6 percent from 7.9 million tons in 2014. Export volume in the first quarter of this year reached 300,000 tons.
Indonesia, however, has been a major source of coal for power plants in the Philippines, prompting the country?s government to urge the Indonesian authority to lift the export ban.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak