Indonesia is known as the world's largest archipelago. However, local authorities do not exactly know how many islands Indonesia actually has. Back in 1996 the central government made a rough estimate of 17,500. However, rising concerns about illegal fishery and radical Islam as well as growth of protectionism (the battle for natural resources) has made the Indonesian government eager to turn the rough estimate into precise knowledge. However, this will not be an easy undertaking.

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The Indonesian government wants to increase the role of nautical tourism in the economy. Currently, nautical tourism only contributes 10 percent to the whole tourism industry of Indonesia. However, by 2019 the government wants to see the figure having doubled to 20 percent, or worth roughly USD $4 billion. Expansion should be achieved by expanding the number of tourist destinations across the Indonesian Archipelago. Nautical tourism includes the marina, charter and cruise industries that combine sailing and boating with holiday activities.

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Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, informed that still not all fishery products that are captured in Indonesian seas and waters are reported to the government. For example, in 2015 only 6 million tons of captured fish were reported to authorities, while it is estimated that production in fact reached 7.4 million tons, implying a 18 percent difference between "legal" and "illegal" fisheries production in Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia's Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry believes the figure is much higher.

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The ASEAN member nations are unwilling to issue a joint statement regarding the recent ruling of an international tribunal that stated there is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the South china Sea area that falls within its so-called nine-dash line. Although the Philippines (which had filed for international arbitration at the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration) requested ASEAN to respond to the tribunal's ruling, Cambodia has managed to block this move.

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Indonesia has become one of the largest - if not the largest - tuna producing countries around the globe. It is estimated that Indonesia supplies about one million tons of the saltwater finfish per year or 16 percent of the world's total tuna supply. As such, the tuna fishing industry has become a vital component of Indonesia's fishing industry and an increasingly important foreign exchange earner within the overall economy. Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of Maritime and Fisheries, is confident that Indonesia will enhance its key role in the world's tuna industry.

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Netherlands-based leading dredging and marine expert Boskalis won a contract from Indonesia-based Ciputra Yasmin for the development of a land reclamation project off the coast of Makassar (South Sulawesi). Reportedly the contract is worth 80 million euro. Boskalis will develop five artificial islands offshore. These islands are part of the 'Centre Point of Indonesia' project which aims at creating quality land (through reclamation) and use this land for commercial and residential purposes. Activities are scheduled to start in the second quarter of the year. It will require two years to complete the project.

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Due to the Indonesian government's push to develop the nation's maritime sector, the initial public offering (IPO) of Dua Putra Utama Makmur, an Indonesian integrated fishery, marine product processing and cold storage company, was oversubscribed 1.5 times. I Made Satyaguna, Head of Investor Relations at Dua Putra Utama Makmur, said the company's target of raising IDR 921 billion (approx. USD $67 million) through the IPO has been achieved. More than 90 percent of investors are pension funds.

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As Indonesian President Joko Widodo is eager to turn Indonesia into a global maritime force by developing an international hub for sea trade, shipping company Soechi Lines is in a good position to take advantage of this push. Moreover, ever-growing oil consumption in Indonesia causes increasing demand for ship chartering. Soechi Lines has a fleet consisting of 37 ships (including oil tankers, chemical tankers and gas carriers) with a cargo capacity of 1.48 million tons and controlling a market share of 16 percent.

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Despite a global drop in piracy incidents in the first half of 2013, Indonesia has experienced a 50 percent surge in pirate attacks to 43 incidents in the same period. Total worldwide pirate attacks in Semester I-2013 fell to 138 cases (from 177). The location where most incidents take place in Indonesia are the waters around the Riau province, particularly around the ports in Dumai and Belawan. "Within Southeast Asia, most of the attacks occur on Indonesian anchorages [not when ships are sailing]" according to the International Maritime Bureau.

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Dutch dredging contractors and marine engineering companies Van Oord and Boskalis have been awarded a contract to design and construct the artificial island off the coast of (North) Jakarta. On this (160-hectares sized) artificial island a new city - called Pluit City - will be developed. The contract, valued at EUR 350 million (split equally between the two Dutch companies) was handed to the Van Oord-Boskalis joint venture by Muara Wisesa Samudra. The project aims to relieve pressure on densely populated Jakarta.

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