Ships might change flags if there is no strict enforcement

SHAH ALAM - Only Israeli-based shipping company ZIM receives special permission to dock in Malaysia due to the country's urgent need for cargo or goods imported by the company.

However, Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research Academy senior fellow and geostrategy expert Dr Azmi Hassan said the special permission granted by the Malaysian government did not mean direct dealings with Israel.

"Permission is granted for ships based in Israel, but it only applies to cargo ships owned by ZIM. The cargo is not from Israel but uses a ZIM ship to trade.

"We deal indirectly using cargo based in Israel. The trade volume is not significant and it only applies to that particular ship, not products from Israel," he told Sinar Premium, yesterday.

Azmi also expressed support for the government's decision to block and no longer accept ships that use the Israeli flag to dock in Malaysia as a response to Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians.

"In the current situation, it is a reasonable decision for the government to make. If this action is done before the ceasefire in Gaza, then the products we want might have been more expensive because they use ZIM ships.

"The ZIM ship was given special permission to dock and unload cargo items. Therefore, we only deal with that cargo," he said.

However, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Associate Professor and maritime law expert Dr Mohammad Zaki Ahmad said the ban imposed by the government needed to be explained in more detail and looked at comprehensively before any action was taken.

"The problem with the ships that will be banned from docking in Malaysia, is that most of them are registered in many countries, not only Israel.

"The issue arises in terms of the category of the ban. Will the Malaysian government prohibit any ships with connections to Israel or those that only use the Israeli flag?.

"What if the ship belongs to an Israeli company but is registered to another country or the captain and crew on duty are Israeli citizens? Will action be taken against them?," he said.

He added that it was not impossible for ships based in Israel to dock in countries that did not have diplomatic relations with it if there was no strict enforcement in place.

"You need to understand that when merchant ships are registered in a country, they have to use the flag of the country they are registered in. If the ships reach countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, they will change flags illegally if strict enforcement was not done.

"Malaysian ports are located under the inland waters area. So, Malaysia has absolute sovereignty to allow or not allow the ship to dock at our port," he said.

A former Transport Minister who did not want to be named said banning any ship that used the Israeli flag will not bring any change or affect the country.

"This is because they can still change the flag according to the needs and policies of any government to attract international cargo investment. The ship may be owned by any other country, but they can use the Israeli flag.

"International maritime policy began because the route of each ship has different challenges, so they need to change flags to bring goods to their destination safely," he said.