TEMPO.CO, Kupang - Oil tanker Ocean Princess that sank in the vicinity waters off Aemoli Village in eastern Indonesia on December 22, 2018 has affected the marine life of Pantar Strait and its surrounding waters, an official stated.

The East Nusa Tenggara provincial government`s marine and fishery authority has sent a team to observe the damages caused by the oil spill of the sinking vessel, Head of the East Nusa Tenggara Marine and Fishery Office Ganef Wurgiyanto noted on Friday.

"The team members had completed their field investigation on Thursday afternoon, and their preliminary findings show that there are indeed damages to marine life of Selat Pantar Marine Park," he noted.

The total amount of material losses for the environmental damages, caused by the tanker carrying diesel fuel from Timor Leste to Singapore, which capsized on December 22, 2018, has been calculated, Wurgiyanto revealed.

The amount of calculated material losses will immediately be submitted to the tanker`s owner to enable the corporate to get discharged for the environmental losses in accordance with existing regulations, he explained.

In response to whether the East Nusa Tenggara provincial government would file the case in court, Wurgiyanto revealed that his office merely demanded the payment for material losses without trial by considering that the sinking was categorized as an accident.

The ill-fated vessel sailing under the Cook Islands flag from the Timor Leste City of Dili to Singapore capsized in the vicinity waters off Alor Island of Alor District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, on Friday, December 22, 2018.

Carrying 18 crew members onboard, the tanker`s skipper is identified as Ahira Sroyer.

ANTARA