KUALA LUMPUR, 8 March: The day kicked off with the President of the Bar,
Yeo Yang Poh in his welcome address emphasising the need to focus on reforms to
take the shipping industry in the direction it want to head.
The Attorney–General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail followed on in his speech
praising the Bar Council for taking the initiative to co–organize the
Conference, and inviting members to provide feedback to Chambers on maritime
issues as they lack the necessary expertise in shipping law. He also hoped that
the Conference would be a place for an open and frank discussion of current
issues which will lead to positive endeavors.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s Keynote address was read out by the Transport
Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and touched on various developments in the
field including the MISC and the establishment of Admiralty Court which
evidenced the seriousness the Government placed in the industry.
The Attorney–General was the first speaker on the topic of international
conventions, and he gave a general overview discussing among others the Vienna
Convention and international bodies responsible for maritime conventions, such
as the United Nations the International Maritime Organization (IMO). He went on
to elaborate legal aspects of the domestic legislation such as the Customs Act
and Port Authorities Act, and the need for the ship–owners to comply with these
laws.
The next speaker, Zahar Mohd Hashim, the Vice President for Offshore Business,
MISC Bhd spoke on “Phased–Out Vessels and Offshore Structures – Life After”. He
focused our attention on how old ships can be given “new lives” by being
converted into “Floating Production Storage Offloading” (FPSO). FSPO are moving
oil tankers that can harvest oil from the sea and keep them in her tanks on the
unit before shuttling it off in tankers to be sold. This has been a
revolutionary idea which worked well, e.g. the FSPO Bunga Kertas, FSPO Brasil
and others.
The following paper on “Port Security and Responsibility” was presented by the
Chairman of NCB Holdings Bhd, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Sarji Bin Abdul Hamid who
explained the types of problems faced in a port such as cargo theft, illegal
immigrants and drug smuggling. He concluded that the lack of security at the
ports do hamper the businesses of the nation.
At the question and answer session, Captain Abdul Aziz who is a Malaysian
working in the Marine Department, Brunei, asked whether IMO rules were “forced”
by Europe and America, and if so, how can Malaysia’s views be heard? Tan Sri
Gani Patail answered that current negotiations in relation to IMO rules are
being held with Chambers, and in future, members of the Bar should also
participate in them.
Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji dealt with a question whether there was a need for
additional security at ports post–9/11 incident by saying that this was not
necessary as the current system is working well.
In relation to the question as to whether FSPO ships were still single hull
tankers or double hull tankers, Zahar answered that they are all single hull and
to another question as to the disposal of the FSPO after its life span, he
answered that he said technology on this is being developed.
After lunch, Dr. S. Darumalinggam, the Vice Chairman on Malaysian National
Shipper's Council discussed the topic “Consumers’ (Shippers) Expectations”. It
was an engaging talk on a shipper’s pitiful work, where they need to obtain a
good sea crew and reduce the costs of transportation but at same time maintain
the safety and security of the fleet. He highlighted the number of the charges
incurred by the shippers and proposed a “one–stop center” to facilitate one
payment for all costs. He also raised 13 recommendations that shippers wanted to
in the shipping industry.
We had our first inter–active panel session on the "Admiralty Court: The Need
and The Viability”. It was chaired by Dato’ Cecil Abraham and one of the
panellists was Justice Dato’ Vincent Ng. The concern raised was the there may be
delays in cases before the Court, and whether the Court had the expertise to
deal with admiralty cases.
The second inter–active panel session was titled "Time for a Multi–Modal
Regime". The panellists explained the transportation of cargo which may involve
various modes such as shipping, rail, road or air.
One of the panellists, K. Patmanathan raised the thought provoking question
asking why all Malaysian owned or registered ship companies must have at least
30% Bumiputras? This was not beneficial because it is keeping foreign companies
away.
It was an interesting and beneficial first day which ended with a reception at
6.00pm.
National Maritime Conference (Day 1)
11 Mar 2007 12:00 am