Safe and sustainable Straits of Malacca and Singapore
A series of the meetings under the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore have been held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this week (2-6 October 2017).
Safety of navigation, including e-navigation, and marine environmental protection in one of the busiest waterways were on the agenda of the meetings, attended by representatives of the littoral States (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), user States and other stakeholders.
IMO’s Hiro Yamada participated in the 10th Co-operation Forum (CF10), the 10th Project Coordination Committee (PCC10) and the 42nd Tripartite Technical Experts Group (TTEG42) meetings. He explained about the IMO Malacca and Singapore Straits Trust Fund, set up to support capacity-building activities in the Straits, and said that IMO would continue to contribute to the Cooperative Mechanism.
The Cooperative Mechanism was established in 2007, under IMO's "Protection of Vital Shipping Lanes" initiative, to foster cooperation and communication between the littoral States, user States and stakeholders of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The Mechanism comprises three interconnected and complementary components: the Cooperation Forum serves as a platform for dialogue; the Project Coordination Committee coordinates the implementation of Straits Projects; and the Aids to Navigation Fund receives direct financial contributions for the provision and maintenance of critical navigational aids in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The Tripartite Technical Experts Group supervises the activities of the Cooperative Mechanism.