TNI AL Captures Illegal Nickel Transport Ship

Nickel mining activities in the Obi Island area, South Halmahera, Wednesday (21/1/2026). ANTARA/Abdul Fatah'

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Navy has arrested two nickel-carrying ships for violating sailing permits and mineral and coal management (Minerba) in the waters of Weda Bay, North Maluku. The arrest was carried out by TNI AL personnel using KRI Hampala-880.

The Head of the TNI AL Information Service (Kadispenal) First Admiral TNI Tunggul said the arrest began when the KRI was patrolling in the sea area.

When patrolling, the personnel saw two Tug Boat (TB) Entebe Star 29 and Tongkang (TK) Finacia 61 flags of Indonesia passing.

The ship, said Tunggul, carried 11,007.50 wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel. Officers immediately approached the ship to conduct an inspection.

"Based on the initial examination conducted by the TNI AL soldiers on the field against the ship which was headed by the captain with the initials S and 10 crew members, a series of serious administrative violations of shipping were found up to the alleged criminal act of mining," said Tunggul as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, February 12.

The ship is suspected of violating shipping administration including the non-compliance of the Letter of Authorization for the Route and the Letter of Approval for Sailing (SPB), because the loading dock (jetty) is not registered in the Route Pattern Plan (RPT).

In addition, officers found a difference in crew data with the Crew List and Certificate. Furthermore, five officers on the ship were found to be in office without certificates of experts in accordance with the minimum safety documents.

"Other findings in the field also show that the ship's radio equipment does not match the radio station certificate it has, as well as the navigation publication book which is not updated and still uses the 2024 edition," continued Tunggul.

In addition to violations in the field of shipping, Tunggul explained based on the TNI AL intelligence report at the mine site, the nickel cargo was suspected of violating the mining permit because the amount had exceeded the quota allowed by 25 percent of the Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) in 2026.

Based on the findings, the TNI AL personnel finally deployed KRI Hampala-880 to guide the two ships to Posal Weda, which is about 60 Nautical Miles from the arrest location. There, officers will conduct further inspections.

Tunggul emphasized that this effort is expected to have a deterrent effect so that the public will give up their intention to sail and transport illegal agricultural products.