MPA sets the record straight on ‘fees’ for Straits of Malacca and Singapore transits

In relation to what it called ‘not entirely accurate’ US media reports comparing proposed fees for transits through the Strait of Hormuz with the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, MPA (Maritime and Port Authority) Singapore last week said it wanted to clarify  the legal situation regarding Straits Used for International Navigation (SUINs).

"Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and customary international law, the right of transit passage through SUINs is a right enjoyed by all ships and cannot be impeded,” stated the MPA. “Like the Strait of Hormuz, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) is a SUIN. Accordingly, the three littoral States of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore do not impose fees, tolls, or any form of payment on ships exercising their right of transit passage through the SOMS.

However, there is a  "Cooperative Mechanism, established by the three littoral States, [which] supports navigational safety and environmental protection in the SOMS,” added the MPA.  “Its Aids to Navigation Fund is supported through voluntary financial contributions from non-profit organisations such as The Nippon Foundation and the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, as well as industry stakeholders and States with an interest in the safe and efficient use of the Straits.

"The Aids to Navigation Fund is administered by a committee comprising representatives from the three littoral States and the contributors. These voluntary financial contributions are used to support the provision and maintenance of critical navigational aids in the SOMS. Importantly, they are entirely separate from the exercise of transit passage and should not be misconstrued as fees, tolls or payment imposed on transiting ships.”