Reinforce Traditional Maritime Services to Support ‘Sea Toll Road’

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Sadam Romkeny, the captain of the KM Amboina Star that plies the Ambon Island, Maluku-Obi Island, North Maluku route, navigates the ship through strong currents in waters of western Seram regency, Maluku, on Friday (13/4/2018). The vessel, which is more than 30 years old, should have been replaced to minimize operational risks.

AMBON, KOMPAS – Traditional marine services, or pelayaran rakyat (pelra), must be reinforced as a “fleet of small ships” to support the government’s tol laut (sea toll road) program. This will smooth the flow of goods shipped by the sea toll road to remote regions and resolve price disparities. At the same time, it will also rejuvenate the traditional marine transportation business.

Pattimura University maritime transportation expert Marcus Tukan said that one cause of the sea toll road program’s ineffectiveness was the long shipping duration and clogged distribution chain. As a result, the price of goods remained high in the remote regions served by the sea toll road program. The program’s impact was felt only in the regency capitals, where the goods were unloaded from the ships. Sometimes, the program had no effect in these regions due to minimal supervision.

“Traditional marine services occur organically and can operate without government intervention. It is what people do to survive. Now, the government must become involved to strengthen these services for the sake of its sea toll road program. For instance, it can provide a fuel subsidy,” Marcus said on Wednesday (18/4/2018) in Ambon, Maluku. He said that without the support of traditional marine services, the sea toll road program would remain ineffective.

Kompas found that the price of medium-quality rice last week was Rp 14,000 (US$1.02) per kilogram in Bobo village on Obi island, North Maluku. The rice was distributed from Ambon by a boat that was more than 30 years old with a maximum speed of 9 knots (17 kilometers per hour). It took the boat around 20 hours to complete the 150-nautical-mile (278 km) trip. Apart from making allowances for its aging engine, the boat was deliberately operated at low speeds for fuel efficiency.

Captain Sadam Romkeny of the KM Amboina Star, which served the route, said he spent at least Rp 15 million on fuel for one trip.

Marcus said the government had once planned to rejuvenate the local fleets of small ships. The President has a grand vision of turning Indonesia into a global maritime axis, but he had no realistic program to support small-scale marine transportation. Marcus commented that the government still had its back to the sea. “The impression is that only large shipping companies are in the government’s sights,” he said.

Ganding Sitepu, a marine engineering lecturer at Hasanuddin University and an expert on maritime systems, said there was an impression that the government left pelra to operate on its own without adhering to modern sailing standards, including seaworthiness, comprehensive onboard equipment and the crew’s skill level.

This was despite the large role traditional marine services played in the maritime systems of an archipelagic nation like Indonesia. A pelra fleet could connect remote regions that could not be served effectively by large ships.

Therefore, Ganding said, the government should be involved in improving traditional marine services, including educating its operators and consumers on seaworthiness and safety. The government must also help waive the costs of boat and seaworthiness standardization tests for owners of traditional boats.

Ganding said the government could also subsidize pelra vessels serving irregular routes. These routes must be selective, focusing only on those that serve passengers who depend on traditional water transportation. “This has been done by advanced countries such as Japan,” he said.

Leniency

Traditional marine service providers in Banten’s Serang municipality and Serang and Tangerang regencies have been provided leniency in their operations. Their boats may not fulfill safety and seaworthiness requirements, but the services were still allowed to operate, as they fulfilled the needs of island residents.

Karangantu port management officer Yos Rizal said that traditional boats did not provide only passenger transportation. “They also transport rice, cooking oil, LPG canisters, drinking water and cement,” Yos said on Wednesday (18/4) in Serang.

The boats are allowed to sail, even though they do not fulfill certain seaworthiness requirements. For instance, many traditional boats have no dedicated space for passengers. “They also lack an adequate number of life jackets. Even wooden boats can be used, but they must fulfill [shipbuilding requirements],” said Yos.

(FRN/ENG/BAY)