Due to the archipelagic character of the Malay archipelago, shipping has always been perceived as one of the most important means of transportation in this region. Located in the middle of the Malay Archipelago, the Strait of Malacca – South China Sea route is Malaysia’s crucial sea line of communication.

In 2011, the Straits of Malacca-South China Sea route recorded shipping movements of more than 70,000 vessels, making it the busiest maritime route in the Asia-Pacific region. With active human-based activities, pollution problems are endemic in these waters. 

Maritime accidents

The existence of a number of navigational hazards in the Straits of Malacca and towards its opening to the South China Sea has made navigation difficult through the straits which may ultimately result in maritime accidents.

There have been 39 recorded accidents taking place between the ten-year period of 2000 to 2010. Maritime accidents entail catastrophic effects on the marine environment of the affected area.

As a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (LOSC), Malaysia has limited rights to suspend the passage of ships through its territorial sea.

Could the proposed designation of a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) be an option for Malaysia? 

Particularly sensitive sea area

A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognised ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities.

The concept of PSSA has its origins in Resolution 9 adopted at the International Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention, held in London in February 1978 following tanker accidents in 1976 and 1977.

Currently, there are 12 PSSAs world-wide that have been designated as a PSSA by the IMO, none of which operating in Asian maritime areas.

Articles 5.1 and 5.2 of the PSSA Revised Guidelines clarify that in addition to meeting at least one criterion in relation to ecological, social, cultural and economic aspects, the proposed area for PSSA designation should also be an area which is at risk from international shipping activities.

This involves considerations related to two factors namely, vessel traffic characteristics and natural factors. Consideration would also be given to areas having hydrographical, meteorological and oceanographic characteristics that may pose dangers to mariners.

The proposed PSSA regime

The Straits of Malacca–South China Sea route is collectively considered as an important trading route. The trading activities that went through this maritime route have attracted traders from all around the world to this region.

The rich cultures brought to the two dominant ports along the Straits of Malacca, Penang and Malacca, by innumerable travellers and traders over the centuries have intermingled and created a beautiful harmonious society of different races, each with its own distinct and unique features. As a result, both Malacca and Georgetown, Penang, were declared World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2008.

The Straits of Malacca–South China Sea route is also located within a zone of mega-biodiversity encompassing a variety of habitats and productive marine and coastal ecosystems that include mangrove forests, extensive seagrass beds, mudflats and coral reefs that support a numerous species of flora and fauna. In addition, this maritime route is home to a number of important fishing grounds for which are crucial for the thriving fishing industry of Malaysia.

As a result of their socio-economic importance, the coastal areas facing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore towards its eastern opening to the South China Sea support a relatively high population density, with many cities or urban metropolitan areas concentrated towards the coast such as the cities of Georgetown, Malacca Johor Bahru, and the Klang Valley conurbation in Malaysia, Medan, Dumai and Pekanbaru in Indonesia, as well as the city-state of Singapore.

The Straits of Malacca–South China Sea route is indubitably crucial for international shipping activities. These heavy shipping movements have increased the risks of maritime accidents, which take place in this maritime route every year and result in oil and hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) spills, coastal soil erosion and low coral reef population development.

As these waterways may potentially fulfil the ecological, scientific and socio-economic criteria given in Resolution A.982 (24), some commentators have expressed views that the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea may together be a logical candidate to be designated as a PSSA.

Based on the criteria which must be fulfilled for designation as a PSSA, it would not be impossible for the maritime areas within the Strait of Malacca–South China Sea route to qualify as a PSSA.

Associated Protective Measures

A PSSA designation is not a "stand alone" regime. States that wish to have marine areas under their jurisdiction designated as PSSAs must submit their proposals to the IMO with the proposed Associated Protective Measures (APMs) to be considered by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

The MEPC should not designate a PSSA until after the APMs are considered and approved by the relevant Sub-Committee, Committee or Assembly within the IMO mechanism.  The APMs may also be new measures that have never been introduced by the IMO. Once these APMs are implemented under the auspices of the IMO, States are expected to be bound by such measures in order to reduce pollution and to protect the designated PSSA area from environmental degradation.

Potential challenges

The proposed designation of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea may entail a number of difficulties. Malaysia would have to seek the co-operation of Indonesia and Singapore in order to facilitate such a designation as the jurisdiction over the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea are shared with these neighbouring countries.

Should a joint proposal not materialise, Malaysia has to take its own initiative to work on such a proposal and ultimately having it presented before the IMO.

In addition, both the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea are huge maritime areas encompassing large marine ecosystems. Therefore, the designation of the whole Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea as a PSSA may not be entirely feasible.

Therefore, a thorough study has to be made in order to ascertain which areas within the Straits of Malacca – South China Sea route are to be designated as a PSSA.

Furthermore, an in-depth research has to be conducted to determine the most apposite measures to be made applicable in such a PSSA. The potential APMs may be in the forms of compulsory pilotage as practiced in Torres Strait in Australia, non-anchoring zone as practiced in PSSAs in America or any other novel measures such as toll-levying and traffic limitation scheme. It is to be noted that the implementation of these APMs may be controversial as this may, one way or another, affect freedom of navigation; something which may not be in the favour of maritime nations.

A way forward

The Straits of Malacca–South China Sea route is located considerably within Malaysian waters. This route is traversed by more than 70,000 vessels annually. Maritime accidents take place in these waters every year, causing environmental degradation which may adversely affect Malaysia.

The proposed PSSA designation may be one of the options that Malaysia could resort to in combating pollution in its territorial waters. Be that as it may, such a proposal may entail protests from a number of maritime States due to its controversial nature.

At the moment, Malaysia has yet to announce any plans for a PSSA regime. However, Malaysia has to be well prepared should the need for such a designation arises in future years.

Mohd Hazmi bin Mohd Rusli and Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat ‘Particularly Sensitive Sea Area: An Option for Malaysia’ The Malaysian Insider (November 2013)

See More at : MalaysianInsider , 11 November 2013