MALACCA, S'PORE STRAITS CAN HANDLE MORE FUTURE VESSEL TRAFFIC

SINGAPORE, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- A preliminary shipping study on the Straits
of Malacca and Singapore has shown that the Straits had sufficient capacity to
handle more vessel traffic to accommodate future maritime trade.

Commissioned by Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), the study
showed there was still substantial room for vessel traffic growth without
affecting either efficiency or navigational safety.

The study, presented to the shipping industry here, assessed the
capacity of the Straits based on 2007 data of actual ship reports and radar
information from the MPA's Port Operations Control Centre.

In a statement, MPA's Group Director (Policy and Planning) Yee Cheok Hong
said a clear and accurate picture of the carriage capacity of the Straits of
Malacca and Singapore, would allow the organisation to work with the littoral
States as well as other interested stakeholders, to identify strategies to
enhance capacity while maintaining navigational safety.

The Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) that runs along the Straits of Malacca
and Singapore, between One Fathom Bank off Port Klang in the west and Horsburgh
Lighthouse in the east, measures about 250 nautical miles (463 km).

The narrowest points in the TSS, along which international shipping travels
through the Straits, lies just south of St John's Island within the Singapore
Strait and measures 530 metres westbound, 1617 metres eastbound and 2150 metres
overall in width.

The MPA said based on the efficiency and safety indicators, the current
traffic level in the Singapore Strait could be increased by at least 75 per
cent, if the existing processes and operations remain unchanged and there were
no advances in technology.
-- BERNAMA