September 16, 2002

Hey, This Is My Sand!
Who's stealing Indonesia's sand?

Eric Ellis

Indonesia has drawn a line in the sand. In July it seized seven ships dredging sand from the seabed off the Riau Islands, and it is still holding them. Jakarta says the Korean, Russian, Japanese, and Belgian dredgers were operating illegally in Indonesian waters and has threatened the owners with fines or the loss of their vessels. The navy says it's waiting for other "smugglers" who dare dig up the nation's sand.

Who's stealing Indonesia's sand? It's no secret the stuff is ending up as landfill in Singapore. But it's not clear this is a case of sand piracy. Guido Cockx, manager of Belgian dredging giant Jan de Nul Group, which had two ships seized, says his men were operating legally. "We have contracts with the suppliers," he says, "and they have contracts to buy the sand from Indonesia and sell it to Singapore."

Officials at government-owned Jurong Town Corp., which oversees much of Singapore's reclamation and construction, say its hands are clean too. "JTC appoints contractors to handle our reclamation projects," says spokesman Tang Shuk Yee. "The contractors are responsible to get sand from their own sources."

One thing is sure: Sand is big business--a $5 billion market worldwide, growing by 10% a year. Most of the world's 70 biggest dredgers are busy in the waters around Singapore, the main customer for Indonesian sand. Better make that "were busy." Cockx reckons 34 dredgers are lying at anchor, waiting for the Sand War fog to lift. The suspicion is that the fight over who controls the sand is really between Indonesian businesses, local authorities, and Jakarta.

In which case, don't count on the squabble ending quickly