Members are referred to the Club's advisory of 31 December 2013, alerting to the possibility of a mineral ore / raw material export ban taking effect in Indonesia as of 12 January 2014 following the implementation of the 2009 Mining Law.
The Association has now been advised that media reports in Indonesia indicate that the Government has put forward proposals to mitigate against the impact of the ban which is due to take legal effect in the next few days.
The proposal is that standards will be set for mineral purity levels, and should a cargo be above the minimum level then it can still be exported post 12 January 2014. Bar further developments, exports could then continue until 2017 at which time further legal changes are expected to take effect.
At present there are no official details as to which minerals will be affected by this procedure and at what level the thresholds will be set above which exports will be permitted.
As soon as the Association has further details additional advice will be published, but in the meantime the Association would again repeat the previous advice to Members to:
- check if any on-going cargo operation for mineral ores in Indonesia is likely to continue up to and past 12 January 2014;
- if the answer to (1) is yes, to check that the cargo being laden has the necessary export permits as required under Indonesian law;
- if any cargo lift fixture is offered for a mineral ore cargo post 12 January 2014, careful attention has to be paid to the nature of the cargo, the stated purity level of the mineral ore and the prevailing Indonesian export laws to ensure the cargo can be legally exported from Indonesia. Necessarily this means undertaking detailed enquiries at the fixture stage of any proposed voyage.
Members are reminded that exporting a cargo in contravention of local laws, in any country, may come with significant penalties and other consequences.
If Members have further queries, they are asked to contact the Association.
The Association is grateful to Dughall Aitken of SPICA and Capt. Mohammed of SPICA Indonesia for contributing to this advisory.