Indonesian Navy Seizes Tanker MT Strovolos Fugitive By Cambodian Government

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

BATAM - Armed Forces of the Navy through elements of the Fleet Command I KRI John Lie-358 arrested the tanker MT Strovolos, a fugitive from the Cambodian government. This tanker was arrested after committing violations in the Indonesian territory, Anambas waters, Riau Islands.

"The intensity of sea operations carried out by the Indonesian Navy, in this case Koarmada I, has paid off. KRI John Lie-358 captured the tanker MT Strovolos in the Anambas waters, which are Indonesian territorial waters, on July 27, 2021," said the Commander of Koarmada I (Pangkoarmada I) Admiral TNI Arsyad Abdullah quoted by Antara, Wednesday, August 25.

The arrest of MT Strovolos, a Bahamas-flagged tanker, began with a red notice issued by the Cambodian government through its embassy on July 24, 2021.

Cambodia appealed for the support of the relevant authorities in Indonesia to detain the vessel suspected of committing the crime of stealing about 300,000 barrels of crude oil from Cambodia.

KRI John Lie-358, which at that time carried out sovereignty enforcement operations and security patrols in the national jurisdiction, succeeded in detecting and securing MT Strovolos in Anambas waters.

From the results of the initial investigation, MT Strovolos has a Bahamas flag with a captain with the initials SSM who is a Bangladeshi national carrying 19 crew members.

Thirteen of them are Indian citizens, 3 are Bangladeshi citizens and 3 are Myanmar citizens.

The ship was loaded with crude oil of 297,686,518 Gross BBLS which sailed from Thailand to Batam by not activating the AIS (Automatic Identification System) when sailing in Indonesian waters.

The ship also carried out anchoring without permission in the Indonesian territory.

With initial evidence of a violation of the applicable national positive law, KRI John Lie-358 escorted MT Strovolus to Batam to be handed over and further processed by the Batam Navy Base (Lanal) which was immediately quarantined according to the COVID-19 protocol before further investigation was carried out by Lanal Batam.

"Until now, the legal process of the case has been carried out by the submission of phase I from the Navy Investigators to the Batam District Attorney, then waiting for the P-21 process or being declared complete by the Batam District Attorney," said Pangkoarmada I.

The skipper of the MT Strovolos ship with the Bahamas flag GT 28,546 has been named as a suspect suspected of carrying out anchoring in the Indonesian territorial sea without a permit.

The captain was suspected of violating Article 317 in conjunction with Article 193 paragraph (1) of Law no. 17 of 2008 concerning Shipping.

Pangkoarmada I said the success of the arrest was due to cooperation and coordination as well as good relations between Southeast Asian countries, especially between the Navy and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that they were able to uncover all forms of transnational crimes.

"The Navy tries to always be present by carrying out patrols in the Waters of the National Jurisdiction in order to maintain the sovereignty of the State and enforce the law. The arrest of the Bahamas-flagged MT Strovolos is one of the concrete manifestations carried out by the ranks of Koarmada I carrying out orders and commitments from the Navy leadership," he said. .

Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral TNI Yudo Margono, is committed that his party will not hesitate to take action against all forms of law violations that occur in the waters of Indonesia's national jurisdiction.

In addition, at this time, Admiral TNI Yudo Margono continues to strive and continuously establish harmonious relations between the navies of friendly countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally to facilitate coordination and share information with countries in the world.