TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chief of Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA), Camelia Hartono, stated that the national ship investment growth in 2012-2013 was 9.8 percent. Between October 2012 and October 2013, the number of commercial ships increased from 11,628 to 12,774 units with a US$2.5 billion investment value. “This is supported by the implementation of cabotage principle last year,” said Camelia in a media discussion yesterday.

Cabotage principle is a government policy to provide privileges to domestically owned ships. The implementation is regulated by Article 7 and 8 of Law No. 17/2008 on Sailing. The regulation was gradually put into effect starting from January 2013. All ships operated in Indonesia must bear the Indonesian flag, with a minimum of 51 percent local investor ownership.

Last year’s investment value was far greater than the average estimation in nine years. Earlier, INSA targeted 2005-2014 ship investment value at US$14 billion, or US$1.6 billion per year.

According to Camelia, the domestic cargo sailing growth gives a significant impact on the increasing investment value. Based on the data from the Transportation Ministry, she stated that the domestic ship cargo volume has increased by 10.9 percent, from 316.48 tons in December 2012 to 350.93 tons in February 2013.

MARIA YUNIAR | RUMBADI DALLE (BATAM)