Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian delegation partook in discussions on standard administrative procedures internationally in connection with international shipping and trade activities through maritime routes.

The discussion is conducted at the 47th Facilitation Committee Meeting (FAL 47) held by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on March 13-17, 2023, at the IMO Headquarters in London, the United Kingdom.

"With harmonization and standardization in administration between institutions and between countries, the administrative process at ports will be faster, and international shipping traffic will be easier," Head of the Sub-Directorate for Foreign Sea Transport, Directorate of Traffic and Sea Transport, Rifanie Komara, Directorate General of Sea Transportation, said as quoted from a written statement in Jakarta, Tuesday.

The Directorate General of Sea Transportation, as a maritime administration, is responsible for the implementation of government activities and administration at international maritime organizations and/or international institutions in the field of other shipping, in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations as stipulated in Article 45 of Presidential Decree Number 23 of 2022.

Specifically, the 47th IMO FAL session further discussed 22 agenda items, with the main agenda considering the adoption of the amendment draft to the FAL Convention, developments in the attachments and the Explanatory Manual of FAL Convention, and application of the single window concept.

On this occasion, Komara stated that Indonesia had submitted a document for discussion on agenda 6: Application of the Single Window Concept in the FAL 47/INF.4 document titled "Implementation of a single window platform to standardize services and reduce administrative burdens at Indonesia's ports."

"As well as delivering a presentation on Indonesia's Inaportnet system in front of representatives of IMO member countries on Wednesday, March 15, 2023," he remarked.

He explained that as a country that ratified the 1965 Facilitation Convention through Presidential Decree No. 51 of 2002, with the aim of facilitating ships entering ports, loading and unloading activities, and ships leaving ports, which also greatly influenced the length of time that containers spent in ports, Indonesia had made quite significant achievements by a system built through Inaportnet.

Moreover, there is a system built by related ministries and institutions in order to facilitate the delivery of information by the government, port operators, national and foreign shipping companies, and other related maritime communities.

The Ministry of Transportation stated that Indonesia is a country, with quite a large export potential in the form of general cargo, containers, and other cargo and hoped that recommendations from the 47th FAL meeting can be used as a reference for domestic implementation.

It is deemed crucial since 109 ports in Indonesia have already implemented Inaportnet, and there will be 151 other ports in 2023.

The application of Inaportnet at ports is Indonesia's commitment to implementing an online system to facilitate the loading and unloading of goods at ports that must be getting better.

It needs to be continuously improved, so that system harmonization can be achieved between institutions and between countries due to which it deserves serious attention from all stakeholders in the port.

The Indonesian delegation present at the 47th IMO FAL session comprised representatives from the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in London, the Ministry of Transportation cq. Directorate General of Sea Transportation and National Single Window Institution (LNSW) of the Ministry of Finance.

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Translator: Benardy Ferdiansyah, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Sri Haryati
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