INSA: A tough or weak player?
This month (March) is the ninth anniversary of cabotage principle implementation in Indonesia. Since its enactment on March 8, 2005, the policy has been contributing a lot to the national shipping business. The Indonesian Shipowners’ Association (INSA) claimed that the cabotage principle had helped their members to double Indonesia-flagged fleet posture to the existing number of 12,000 vessels from previously 6,000 in 2005. In terms of money, the achievement totally valued US$14 billion while before the cabotage principle being implemented the figure was US$1.5 billion. The cabotage principle entered into force through the Presidential Instruction or INPRES No. 5/2005 in which INSA was its main proponent. It was then integrated into the Shipping Act No. 17/2008. For Indonesia the cabotage principle is not a new one because the country ever practised it in 1960s, not long after Prime Minister Djuanda declaring his famous declaration, the Djuanda Declaration, in 1957. We ca...