Indonesian Maritime Security Agency

The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Indonesian: Badan Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia – Bakamla) is a maritime patrol and rescue agency of the Republic of Indonesia. Bakamla is a non-ministerial government institution which reports directly to the President through Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. Bakamla's duty is to conduct security and safety patrols in the territorial waters of Indonesia and the jurisdiction of Indonesia. Previously Bakamla was a non-structural institution called the Coordinating Agency for the Security of the Republic of Indonesia (Badan Koordinasi Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia – Bakorkamla). The agency is not part or associated with the Indonesian National Armed Forces, although its top-ranking leadership are handpicked from the Indonesian Navy. Bakamla and the Indonesian Navy, however, often conduct exercises and joint-operation together. While during search-and-rescue operations, Bakamla also conduct joint-operations with the National Search and Rescue Agency.
President Joko Widodo officially announced the establishment of Bakamla to coincide with the 2014 Nusantara Day celebration held in Kotabaru, South Kalimantan. During the occasion, the President mentioned that Bakamla would be coordinated by the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security. Meanwhile, in the management and utilization of marine resources, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs would coordinate with the Coordinating Minister for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
Bakamla is not associated with the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard Unit (Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai Republik Indonesia - KPLP). While the former is under the jurisdiction of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, the latter is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation. Both of them however has similar roles and functions.
Maritime Security Coordinating Board (Badan Koordinasi Keamanan Laut) initially had been formed in 1972 through a joint decree of the Minister of Defense and Security / Commander of the Armed Forces, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Finance, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, No. KEP/B/45/XII/1972; SK/901/M/1972; KEP.779/MK/III/12/1972; J.S.8 /72/1; KEP-085/J.A/12/1972 on the Establishment of Marine Safety Coordinating Board and the Joint Command Operations Marine Safety.
Due to changes on governance and development of the strategic environment in 2003, Maritime Security Coordinating Board requires refreshment to improve coordination among various government agencies in the field of maritime security. Hence, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs issued decree, No. KEP.05 / Menko / Polkam / 2/2003, of establishment of a working group Development Planning security and Law Enforcement at Sea. And through a series of seminars and cross-sectoral coordination meeting, then on 29 December 2005, it was determined the Presidential Decree No. 81 Year 2005 on Maritime Security Coordinating Board as the legal basis of the Maritime Security Coordinating Board.
Following the enactment of Article 59 (3) Law No. 32 Year 2014 concerning the Marine, Bakorkamla officially renamed the Maritime Security Agency or Badan Kemananan Laut (Bakamla). Legal basis for Bakamla was then reinforced by the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 178 of 2014 on Maritime Security Agency.
Before 2022, there are multiple maritime law enforcement agencies in Indonesia which tend to have overlap authority between one another in the maritime zone of the country. In March 2022, the government issue new regulation to designate Bakamla as coordinating body for all maritime law enforcement agencies.
Although Bakamla has always referred to itself as Indonesian Coast Guard through its insignia on uniforms, assets and social medias, there are no regulation or law that explicitly state that Bakamla as a "coast guard". The latest regulation in 2022 only refer Bakamla as the "Agency" without assigning it the role of a coast guard. This issue has become more contentious following the 2024 revision of Law No. 17/2008 on Shipping, which designates the Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard (KPLP) as the sole coast guard authority. This designation has led to legal conflicts between KPLP and Bakamla, the latter having already used the title "Indonesian Coast Guard" despite lacking formal recognition. Such conflicts raise concerns about the clarity of maritime law enforcement roles and the effectiveness of Indonesia’s maritime operations both domestically and in the context of international cooperation.
The task of Bakamla is to conduct security and safety patrols in the territorial waters of Indonesia and the jurisdiction of Indonesia.
According to Article 63 Law No. 32/2014 on Marine Affairs, Bakamla has the authority to:
According to presidential decree No. 178/ 2014, the organisation structure of the BAKAMLA comprises the following components:
The Marine Safety and Security Academy (Akademi Keselamatan dan Keamanan Laut, AKKL) is the main training institute for Bakamla candidates. The academy is located within the area of Naval Doctrine, Education, and Training Development Command (Kodiklatal), Bumimoro, Surabaya. The AKKL (Marine Safety and Security Academy) is a breakthrough of Bakamla in preparing qualified human resources in the field of marine security and marine education for three years.
AKKL is paramilitary academy and its graduates will get diploma certificate, the establishment of AAKL is due to cooperation between Bakamla and the Navy. AKKL's campus is located inside the Kodiklatal for Dormitory and Classroom, and the early warning system skill laboratory is located at Naval Academy (AAL) Bumi Moro, Moro Krembangan, Surabaya. The requirements to become AKKL cadets are as followse: male with age 22 years or below, high school graduate, physically and mentally fit, proven to have good behaviour and passed the selection test.
The operational area of Bakamla is the Indonesian Maritime Zone which is divided into three maritime zones:
In the future, Bakamla will increase the base or maritime zone spread over Indonesian waters by building seven more maritime zones to support the marine security sector. Seven maritime zones to be built in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Cilacap, Makassar, Balikpapan, Natuna, Sorong, and Merauke. Each maritime base will have long-range radar stations and satellites to support operations. In addition, it will also be equipped with surveillance equipment and information from the satellite, which can monitor anyone entering Indonesian waters.
All of the vessels are built domestically.
Bakamla vessels have been authorized to use 12.7mm machine guns and 30 mm caliber autocannon.
The Bakamla uses a similar ranking system and insignia with Indonesian Navy. The difference between navy and Bakamla rank are the usage of special title (Bakamla uses special title of "BAKAMLA" for every personnel, while navy uses "(TNI)" for high-ranking officer and branch/corps abbreviation for other officer and enlisted personnel) and Bakamla does not have a rank higher than a Vice admiral (Laksamana Madya) as that is the rank of the head of the agency. Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel, Indonesian National Police personnel or other civil servant who are assigned to Bakamla are given Bakamla rank which are correspond to his/her original rank.
Bakamla Seaman rank sleeves are slanted in navy blue unlike the Navy's straight stripes, a tradition introduced from the US Coast Guard.