Police Need Forensic Evidence to Investigate Balikpapan Oil Spill
17 April 2018 07:22 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - East Kalimantan Police still needs forensic evidence to investigate the oil spill in Balikpapan Bay since there was no eyewitness who saw the ship anchor of MV Ever Judger dragged the oil undersea pipeline and broke it.
“The only evidence is the lab result,” said the police’s special crimes director Sr. Comr. Yustan Alpiani in a hearing meeting with the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission VII in Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday, April 16.
The crude oil spill in Balikpapan Bay on March 31 was allegedly due to the broken pipe from the Lawe-lawe Terminal in Penajam Paser Utara to Balikpapan Refinery.
Read: House Convenes Meeting on Balikpapan Oil Spill
The pipe that was constructed in 1998 was dragged away for 120 meters from its initial position. The Panama-flagged ship MV Ever Judger dropped its 12-ton anchor which was suspected to have hooked onto the pipe and dragging it until it snapped.
Yustan further explained after examining the forensic evidence, the police will summon experts for testimony. The police also need the ship’s itinerary and location before the incident occurred.
Yustan said that his team has directly investigated the beneath sea of Balikpapan Bay, particularly where the pipe broke. “However, the visibility is 30-50 centimeters due to the low light and turbid water under the sea,” he said.
LANI DIANA WIJAYA