INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Igor Warokka and Mutiara Kasih Ramadhani, SSEK Law Firm
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The Indonesian Maritime Court, or Mahkamah Pelayaran , is regulated under Law No 17 of 2008 regarding Shipping, as last amended by Law No 66 of 2024 (specifically, the “Third Amendment to the Shipping Law” and, collectively, the “Ship - ping Law”). The Shipping Law defines the Mari - time Court as a panel of experts that is responsi - ble to, and under, the Ministry of Transportation. The Maritime Court has the authority to conduct follow-up investigations into shipping accidents and to enforce a professional code of ethics and competence for ship Masters and officers after a preliminary examination by the harbour master. The Maritime Court also has the authority to examine collisions between commercial ships and state ships, and between state ships and warships. Nevertheless, it is not considered a juridical court within the framework of Indone - sia’s legal system, and at most is only able to issue administrative sanctions. Moreover, both the Shipping Law and the Indo - nesian Commercial Code (the “ICC”) provide that maritime claims may also be submitted to the Indonesian district courts. Common mari - time claims include maritime casualties and collisions, cargo claims and passenger claims. 1.2 Port State Control Under Article 218 of the Shipping Law, a harbour master ( syahbandar ) has the authority to conduct seaworthiness and safety inspections of Indone - sian-flagged ships, and of foreign-flagged ships at Indonesian ports. Harbour masters’ powers also include the authority to inspect vessels and
seek information for the purpose of gathering evidence in relation to marine casualties. Minister of Transportation (MOT) Regulation No PM 119 of 2017 regarding Foreign Ship Safety and Safety Check Officers (“MOT Reg 119/2017”) defines “port state control” as state supervision of the seaworthiness and safety of foreign ships entering ports to ensure the fulfil - ment of requirements implemented by harbour masters. In general, port state control officers appointed by the harbour master have the power to detain and delay the departure of a ship when the ship’s failure to meet the aforementioned requirements threatens the safety of the ship, human lives and/ or the maritime environment. Indonesia’s port state control system has been implemented with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (the “Tokyo MOU”), of which Indonesia is a sig - natory. The Tokyo MOU is specifically mentioned in MOT Reg 119/2017. Port state control officers do not have any authority over marine casualties such as ground - ing, pollution or wreck removal. According to Government Regulation No 31 of 2021 (“GR 31/2021”), ship-owners are responsible for man - aging grounding and wreck removal. However, if the ship-owner has not carried out wreck remov - al within 180 days of the collision, the removal must be carried out by the MOT, at the expense of the owner of the wreck. If the position of the wreck and/or its cargo is disrupting the opera - tion of the port and/or polluting the maritime environment, the harbour master may order the ship-owner to immediately lift or get rid of the wreck and/or its cargo.
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