Indonesian Embassy Kuala Lumpur Repatriation 5 Fishermen Of The Anambas Islands

KUALA LUMPUR - The Indonesian Embassy's Protection Task Force Team consisting of the Transportation Satker and the Consular Protection Function will repatriate five Indonesian fishermen from the Anambas Islands, Riau Islands.

"This repatriation plan will be carried out after the completion of a 14-day investigation conducted by the Terengganu State Maritime Agency, with the results of the investigation on March 25, 2022 being declared innocent by the prosecutor and ordered to be returned to his country of origin," said the Coordinator of the Social and Cultural Affairs Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Yoshi Iskandar in Kuala Lumpur was reported by Antara, Tuesday, March 29.

The incident began when the five Indonesian fishermen went to sea on March 4, 2022, then after two days at sea the ship sank due to bad weather.

"They floated by holding on to empty drums for two days until they drifted to the platform of the Petronas Offshore platform which was not operating," he said.

Furthermore, the Indonesian fishing crew climbed onto the uninhabited platform to save themselves and look for food to survive.

"The fishing crew then decided to lower the life raft on the offshore platform to the sea to ask for help from other boats passing through the area," he said.

The five Indonesian fishermen were finally rescued by a Vietnamese-flagged fishing boat and escorted to another Petronas offshore platform that was still operating.

"All fishermen were evacuated ashore by the Petronas team and the Terengganu State APMM for further investigation. Since the initial information on the disaster was received, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur's Protection Task Force Team immediately coordinated and carried out intensive communication with the Terengganu State APMM," he said.

The evacuation process was continuously monitored and provided assistance to the five fishermen, namely Mazli (39), Jumadi (39), Buhari (47), Ridwan (27) and Arifin (33).

The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur Task Force team also coordinated with the Anambas Islands Regional Government to convey information on the progress of handling and repatriating the five Indonesian fishermen.

"The Protection Task Force team has scheduled the repatriation of the five fishermen on April 1, 2022 through the Pasir Gudang Port to Batam. Furthermore, the five fishermen will be returned to their hometowns in Anambas in cooperation with related parties in Indonesia," he said.