Viral Tanker Ship Captain From Indonesia Allegedly 'Cracked' In China, Family Meets Deadlock When Asking PWNI And Indonesian Embassy For Help In Shanghai

Illustration of a tanker. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - A viral thread about the alleged detention of an Indonesian citizen (WNI) who works as a ship captain by law enforcement officers in China. The thread on social media was written by a man who claimed to be the captain's son.

The boy faces obstacles in finding clarity about his father's plight. He collided with the bureaucracy here and there, so he finally spilled his worries on social media.

In the thread, the child with the Twitter account @adekistrifal recounted the incident that his father experienced, a tanker captain.

The captain of the tanker often sails through the waters of the countries, in cooperation with foreign shipping companies, but with a purpose that has been written in the employment contract. It is similar to the father in this thread.

After being officially contracted with a one-year term by an agent in Sunter, East Jakarta, the child's father led a sailing ship to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, starting in July 2018.

The father led the crew or crew members of the majority of foreign nationals from mainland Taiwan. Only three of its crew members are Indonesian nationals.

The father child's daily life with the crew was passed without any significant obstacles. Until the end of his working period, his father decided to continue the work contract.

Becoming a tanker captain for 1 year and 6 months will be returned to him. But this time, it was handled by an agent in Kaohsiung who had been connected to an agent in Sunter.

Wading through the ocean, away from family, homesickness sometimes comes like a storm. However, the name of the ship captain is not good if he is not good at taming the waves that suddenly crash.

When the mosque's surau finishes reverberating and the Fajr prayer is completed, the sound of a short message ringtone from him is often awaited by families in the country.

"Usually every dawn call to prayer, papa always chats with his children by reminding us to pray," wrote the Twitter account @adekistrifal.

But that longing turned out to be stretched back. The pandemic that was still raging and the lockdown policies everywhere at that time made the child's father return to sailing after his contract expired.

On the one hand, this situation can make the dream of performing the pilgrimage come true. The coffers of money will be returned to him for future savings, the child's father finally extended his work contract until December 31, 2021.

However, the unwanted thing came. The son and family were unable to contact the father. If usually lost contact at sea only happens for one week, this time the father has not been contacted since December 17, 2020

"Then on January 17, 2021, we received bad news that there were 3 Taiwanese ships that were caught by the Chinese Sea Guard for allegedly conducting trade in the China Sea area. Then we confirmed to the owner who oversees my papa's ship and his agency that it is true that my papa's ship was detained and brought to Wenzhou, China," said the Twitter account @adekistrifal.

Illustration of a tanker. (Pixabay)

The child waited up to a month for the information he got to be accurate. He finally convinced himself and then reported the alleged incident that had happened to his father to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on February 17, 2021.

The child was then directed to also report to the Protection of Indonesian Citizens (PWNI) and contact the Indonesian Embassy in Shanghai, China, on the grounds that the incident was in the region.

The official report was finally sent by the child, complete with no complaints, data from his father and data from three Indonesian crew members, his father's subordinates. However, three months later, information about the whereabouts of the father and the 3 crew members did not come.

The response from the PWNI and the Indonesian Embassy in Shanghai was only an excuse about the Chinese government being very uncooperative and quite closed to such things.

"We were just told to wait and wait!" he said.

"Until finally, like lightning in broad daylight in February 2022, we received news from one of the families of the other crew members (we are active in the family wa group with other crew members to strengthen each other and share information) and not from PWNI or the Indonesian government, if the results of the trial are out," he continued.

The trial results found the father and son's tanker guilty of smuggling oil in Chinese territory. Atah the child was sentenced to 7 years in prison with a fine that has been dirupiahkan as much as Rp250 million.

Meanwhile, the other three Indonesian crew members were sentenced to different fines and imprisonment, respectively, including 6 years, 5 years and 3 years in prison.

"WHAT?? @Kemlu_RI. And until this moment we have not received any official information from PWNI stating the results of the trial. I don't know the whereabouts and condition of my father, we always receive template answers and promises," he said.

The son then demanded accountability from the agent who hired his father to pay the fine from the verdict his father received but the effort was in vain. He only received 1.5 months of his father's salary in December 2021 which is referred to as a compensation.

"Then what are the efforts of the Indonesian government against the company that employs my father, why is it not responsible and is still operating?"

"Are my papa and his crew still alive? Prayers continue to flow for our papa and the ship's crew, may they be healthy & in the protection of Allah SWT," wrote the @adekistrifal account.

Regarding the alleged detention of an Indonesian citizen who works as a tanker captain by law enforcement officers in China, VOI has tried to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and PWNI. However, until now there has been no response from the relevant parties.