Managing the safety of those who go to sea in Indonesian waters is an important task of the Indonesian government. In the past, Indonesia did not enjoy a good reputation in this field, but today the government is making an increased effort to uphold international marine safety standards.

Seafarers and travellers in Indonesian waters face a complex range of hazards. Because Indonesia is an archipelago, many of its sea lanes run through narrow passages between islands, with consequent problems of congestion (see Map 1.1 on page 2). This issue is particularly serious in the Malacca Strait, which Indonesia shares with Malaysia. The strait is 1,000 kilometres long and, at some points, only two kilometres wide and 23 metres deep. It is the main line of sea communication between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Of the oil transported from the Middle East to East Asia, 85 per cent passes through this narrow corridor. Each year about 60,000 ships, with an estimated weight of 4 billion deadweight tonnes, sail through the strait. Another 14,000 ships, including supertankers, pass through the Lombok Strait, which is both broader (at 11 kilometres) and deeper than the Malacca Strait. A further 3,500 ships per year use the Sunda Strait (Ho 2006: 559–61). Although much shipping follows major routes, there is a significant volume of traffic on smaller routes, many of which cross the larger ones, creating further congestion problems.

According to the latest figures from the Directorate of Marine Traffic in the Directorate General of Marine Transport (31 March 2008), Indonesia's national fleet comprises 7,846 ships. This is a 29.9 per cent increase over the previous total of 6,041 ships, recorded in March 2005. However, the statistic is misleading, because it reflects the registration of many ships which had previously operated under flags of convenience in order to evade the Indonesian government's requirements on safety and labour (Sijabat 2007b). In 2005, the government required all Indonesian vessels operating in the nation's waters to operate under the national flag, forcing vessels flying flags of convenience, newly built ships and used ships procured from abroad to register as Indonesian vessels.