TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Navy's Region Fleet Command (Koarmabar) commander Rear Admiral Aan Kurnia said that the Indonesian Navy had investigated hundreds of boats for allegedly conducting illegal activities in the period of September to October 2016. Based on the investigation, a Singapore-flagged tanker had been seized when transporting 400 tons of oil in Bangka Belitung Waters on Sunday, October 16, 2016.
"We have seized Singapore-flagged Motor Tanker (MT) Zamidah, claiming that it was transporting fuel to Malaysia," Aan said at the Koarmabar headquarter in Jakarta on Monday, October 17, 2016.
According to Aan, the tanker was caught red-handed in Bangka Belitung by Indonesian ship KRI Cucut-866. During an inspection, the Koarmabar's quick response team found that MT Zamidah that belonged to Dutaryo Overseas Trading Corporation was without proper documents. It was also found that the tanker employed 12 Indonesian nationals.
"The ship had been taken to the Naval Base in Bangka Belitung," Aan added.
Aan revealed that Koarmaber is supported by the Navy's Sea Battle Group, and the Maritime Security Board. Aan added that over the last two months, as many as 21 ships committed violations. In addition, over the last four days, Koarmabar had arrested two Vietnam-flagged ships and a Singapore-flagged ship due to smuggling allegations. The two Vietnam-flagged ships were arrested by Indonesian ship KRI Silaspapare-386 on October 13, 2016.
"There were two ships detected by Silaspapare from a distance of 5.5 miles. The ships were dragging trawls," Aan said, adding that the two ships employed 15 Vietnamese crews.
Meanwhile, the Singapore-flagged ship, allegedly smuggling goods from Singapore to Indonesia, was nameless. The LCT Toll Emperor was arrested on Sunday, about 12 hours after the seizure of MT Zamidah. A number of electronic products, furnishings, and glassware products were transported from the LCT to Sekupang Dock in Batam.
During the operation, Koarmabar arrested 12 Indonesian crew members.
"Based on information from the helmsman and crews, the owner of the goods is a Singaporean," Aan said.
YOHANES PASKALIS
