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A Chaotic Oil Cleanup at Balikpapan Bay

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18 April 2018 07:02 WIB

A worker cleans up oil that inundated the coastline in Balikpapan, Indonesia Wednesday, April 4, 2018. An oil spill that caused a fire that killed five people and sickened hundreds in an Indonesian port city came from a broken pipe the state-owned energy company was using to transfer crude oil, police said Thursday. A preliminary investigation had identified the leaking substance as marine fuel oil, but East Kalimantan police spokesman Ade Yaya Suryana said the latest sample confirmed it was crude oil from a pipe laid on the seabed and owned by state oil and gas company Pertamina. AP Photo

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Aziz Badruh woke to perform the tahajjud night prayer in the early hours of Saturday three weeks ago. However, this resident of Kampung Atas Air, Margasari Sub-district, Balikpapan, changed his mind when he caught the scent of fuel. Aziz initially suspected the odor was coming from a natural gas tank. 

He checked his home tank of natural gas. It was not leaking. When he aimed a flashlight at the space under his stilt home, he was surprised to see that the water had turned pitch black. Aziz's town is three kilometers northeast of the office and refinery of Pertamina Refinery Unit V of Balikpapan. Aziz later realized that the odor was coming from the darkness out in Balikpapan Bay.

Read: Dark Debacle in Balikpapan Bay

Two hours later, Aziz saw Pertamina personnel sailing into the bay. There is an oil pipeline which runs under the surface there which connects the Balikpapan Refinery with the Lawe-lawe Crude Terminal in North Penajam Paser. Personnel also came to his neighborhood after sunrise. "They came here for inspections," said Aziz on Thursday last week.

On the same morning, personnel from the Harbormaster's Office and the Balikpapan Port Authority patrolled Balikpapan Bay. One of them found oil about 300 meters away from the port. That worker contacted Sanggam Marihot, Head of the Harbormaster's Office and the Balikpapan Port Authority, to report what had been found.

Read: Pertamina Prepares Replacement Pipes

Six hours later, some of the spilled oil caught fire. Dark smoke billowed into the sky. As a result, five people died and one suffered burns. A cargo ship sailing under the flag of Panama, MV Ever Judger, was also caught in the flames. A lifeboat caught fire after the flames spread through mooring lines.

On Saturday afternoon, The Balikpapan office of Pertamina quickly arranged a press conference. General Manager of Pertamina Refinery Unit V of Balikpapan Togar M.P. Manurung said that the oil which spilled in Balikpapan Bay did not come from their refinery. Togar suspected that the spill was fuel from ships in the port.

Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine



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