TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force (Satgas 115) will assign a team to investigate Chinese-operated vessel Hua Li 8, detained at Indonesian Navy Base Lantarmal I Belawan, South Sumatra.
“We will gather evidences to conduct legal processes against the vessel,” Satgas 115 member Mas Achmad Santosa said on Sunday, April 24, 2016.
Two Navy’s battleships intercepted the fishing boat, which has a weight of 1,275 gross tons, in Lhokseumawe waters, Aceh, after receiving an alert from the Interpol that the Chinese boat would enter Indonesian waters.
Interpol had been hunting down the vessel based on a report from Argentina. Achmad said that the boat had been poaching fishes in Argentinean exclusive economic zone in February 2016.
Achmad explained that the Indonesian government had the authority to search and capture Hua Li 8 vessel.
“The Argentinean federal court has provided the Indonesian government with an authority to search and capture the vessel,” Achmad clarified.
Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who also serves as the Satgas 115 commander, received the letter signed by Argentinean judge Javier Leal de Ibarra, requesting the Indonesian government to treat the crew well. Achmad said that although the vessel did not violate Indonesian law, the government had the right to detain and search the vessel.
“Of course, if our national law is violated, we have the right to conduct legal processes against the vessel,” Achmad added.
UNTUNG WIDYANTO
