By Bernadette Christina Munthe

JAKARTA, April 20 (Reuters) – Authorities from not less than two Indonesian coal ports have blocked ships from leaving to the Philippines as a consequence of safety issues after a spate of ship hijackings within the southern Philippines, an Indonesian authorities official stated on Wednesday.

The rising frequency of maritime assaults by Islamist militants is for the primary time affecting coal commerce between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, provides 70 p.c of the Philippines’ coal import wants.

“The situation in the Philippines is considered not safe and some of our ships were hijacked,” Umar Aris, Indonesia’s performing director basic of sea transportation, instructed Reuters.

Shipping permits to the Philippines have been now not being authorised on the ports of Banjarmasin and Tarakan in Indonesia’s Kalimantan, an space residence to a few of the greatest coal mines operated by Adaro Energy and Bumi Resources.

It was not clear how a lot of Indonesia’s coal exports have been affected by the transport restrictions on the two ports.

“Tomorrow, I’ll have a meeting with the Navy and State Intelligence Agency to further discuss the matter. We’re trying to find the best solution,” Aris stated.

Indonesia has already known as for joint maritime patrols with the Philippines and Malaysia following the assaults.

A complete of 18 crew members from Indonesia and Malaysia have been taken captive in three separate assaults on tugboats in Philippine waters near maritime borders with the 2 international locations.

Among these kidnapped have been 10 crew members on a vessel carrying coal from Banjarmasin, the principle port in South Kalimantan province, stated the Kompas newspaper.

Indonesian media experiences on Tuesday quoted an Indonesian minister as saying a Taiwanese agency would pay to free the ten crew members held by Abu Sayyaf rebels.

The Abu Sayyaf, recognized for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and extortion, has demanded 50 million pesos ($1.1 million) for the liberty of the Indonesian crew. The al Qaeda-linked group is likely one of the most hardline Islamist militant teams within the Muslim south of the largely Christian Philippines.

A Philippine navy spokesman on Wednesday urged that no ransom be paid because it might encourage the emergence of a kidnap “industry”. (Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Jakarta and Manuel Mogato in Manila; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Mark Potter)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.