Indonesia is the world's largest arhcipelagic state with far more marine resources than its ASEAN neighbours. It has extensive marine ecosystems vulnerable to oil pollution such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, intertidal mudflast and mangrove forest.
Oil exploration, production and transport are both critical economic activities for Indonesia and a threat to the nation's coastal marine environment. Moreover, oil pollution in Southeast Asia is a transboundary problem requiring international, especially ASEAN cooperation because of shipping lanes, proximity of nations and coastal habitat similarities.
Seventy percent of Indonesia's populations of 190 million live within the coastal zone. Much of Indonesia's oil industry is located in the coastal zone, along which there are some major oil tanker routes in the straits of Malacca, Singapore, Lombok and Makassar.
The spill of more than 5.000 t of oil by the grounding of the Showa Maru in the Malacca strait on January 6, 1975 stimulated Indonesia and regional concern to be prepared for such major oil spill incidents.
Although Indonesia still have no National Contingency Plan (NCP) for Oil Pollution but Indonesia was quite succesful in responding the last two major oil spill incidents in the strait of Malacca.
This paper discuss how Indonesia developed a national oil spill preparedness and response capability and the Nagasaki Spirit oil spill incident in the strait of Malacca will be discussed as a case study.
?. DEVELOPMENT OF OIL SPILL PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CAPABILITY IN INDONESIA.
1. Efforts taken after the Showa Maru incident.
Development of oil spill preparedness and response capability in Indonesia started when it was compulsory for the oil industry to have oil spill combating equipment at their marine installations or facilities. That is why most of the oil spill combating equipment belongs to the oil industries.
The experience from the major oil spill caused by the MT. Showa Maru incident on January 6, 1975 pushed the government of Indonesia to establish a Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for oil spill response in the straits of Malacca and Singapore, the main tankers route (Figure 1). The SOP is a Joint Decree between the Director General of Sea Communication and the Director General of Oil and Gas, signed in 1981 (Joint Decree No. DKP/1/1/27/Kpts/DM/Migas/81) where Directorate General of Sea Communication has the role as coordinator and Pertamina, the state owned oil and gas company has the role as oil spill equipment operator. Since the straits of Lombok and Makassar, at the centre of the Indonesian archipelago are the alternative route for oil tankers from the Persian
