Special body to handle oil spill problem

The Indonesian Maritime Council (DMI) will set up a special entity locally called Badan Usaha Mandiri or BUM (independent business unit) to handle off shore oil spill problem, the Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Friday.

The paper quoted DMI general secretary Son Diamar as saying that the special entity would have various functions ranging from preventing to handling oil spill problem in the sea, and rehabilitating environment caused by oil spill problem.

BUM would also provide training program to help oil tankers passing through the Indonesian waters to help prevent oil spill accident and to minimize environmental destruction in case of accident.

Son said that the high sea transport traffic in the Indonesian waters created huge potential for oil spill accident.

He pointed out that at least 7 million barrels of crude passed through the Malacca Straits each day; 0.3 million barrels through the South Sumatra waters; and 5-6 giant tankers with individual capacity of 250,000 tons of oil operating in the Lombok Straits and Makassar Straits(*)