All traffic in Indonesian waters must be clearly monitored and recorded. The waters are not the wilderness.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Transportation will ask passenger vessels with 35 gross tonnages (GT) and 60 GT fishing boats to install an automatic identification system (AIS), Sea Transportation Director General Agus Purnomo said here Tuesday. If the vessel operator wishes to enter Indonesian waters, it must install the tracking tool before August 20, 2019, Purnomo explained during a seminar in Jakarta.
The move was backed by the Transportation Minister's Regulation No.7 Year 2019 on the Activation of Automatic Identification System for the Vessels in Indonesian Waters, he stated.
The main purpose behind the move is to ensure the vessel's security and safety during the sail, Purnomo stressed.
"All traffic in Indonesian waters must be clearly monitored and recorded. The waters are not the wilderness," Purnomo remarked.
The tracking system would not only enable the authority to monitor the traffic but also allow officers to contact and question vessel operators during the voyage, he said.
All information recorded by the tracking system would be overseen by several inspectors on the ministry's sea transportation directorate.
The automatic identification system, or AIS, is a satellite-based tracking tool that uses transponders to collect a vessel's several information, including the unique identification, course, speed, and position.
The tracking tool would also allow the authority to access the vessel's GPS information.
Translator: Juwita Trisna Rahayu/Genta Ten
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
