Govt Confirms Nias Waters Polluted due to Raw Asphalt Leak by Foreign Ship
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28 February 2023 20:39 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries or KKP has spoken up about the case of raw asphalt leak that polluted Nias waters. Based on the results of KKP monitoring at the location, the leak originated from the sinking of the MT AASHI ship from the Republic of Gabon, Central Africa.
“The ship was stranded, ran aground, due to bad weather,” said KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono at his office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.
He said the Directorate General of Maritime and Fishery Resources Supervision had identified the ship and met with the representative companies owning the ship, namely PT RBS and PT NSI.
According to Trenggono, the two firms are ready to take solid steps to clean up polluted Nias waters. “It indeed can’t be done fastly, but I think it has to be done,” he said.
He emphasized that the recovery of waters from leaked raw asphalt must be fully borne by the ship owner companies as it had disrupted the environment and caused losses to the ecosystem, as well as affected fishermen.
Even though the ship sank due to weather factors, he said, the ship owner should have anticipated it before transporting goods and setting sail. “We, as sea space managers and supervisors, certainly guarantee that they will do that,” said Trenggono.
Director General of Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision (PSDKP) Adin Nur Awaluddin said the ship came from the Republic of Gabon and carried raw asphalt from the United Arab Emirates to Padang, West Sumatra.
When asked about the losses incurred by this case, Adin claimed he still could not confirm it yet because the expert team is still examining and calculating losses based on evaluation results of damage to coastal areas, coral reefs, and seagrass beds.
After the calculation completes, Adin said the KKP will take legal action against the company in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries No. 28 concerning Procedures for Settlement of Disputes in the Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands.
RIANI SANUSI PUTRI
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