Indonesia ratifies 2 maritime conventions

JAKARTA - A senior official at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that Indonesia has ratified two international conventions related to maritime safety and submitted relevant documents to the organization, local media reported on Thursday.

IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu said Indonesian Permanent Representative to the IMO, TM Hamzah Thayeb, presented the two documents in London on Aug 24. The two conventions are the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL, 1973) and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR, 1979).

Ambassador Thayeb told Sekimizu that Indonesia was committed to promoting maritime safety and therefore ratified the two important IMO conventions.

In response, Sekimizu expressed his appreciation to Indonesia for ratifying the conventions, Antara news agency reported.

"As the world's largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia has become an important member of IMO for not only the Southeast Asian region, but also the Asia-Pacific region and the world," Sekimizu said.