Oil Tanker Collides With 393 Passengers In Makassar, Indonesia And Japan Exercise Scenario Today To Face Incidents At Sea

SULSEL - Indonesia invites the Philippines and Japan to exercise together to deal with the accidental collision between the MT Palu Sipat tanker owned by PT Pertamina and a passenger ship that resulted in an oil spill in Makassar waters, South Sulawesi (South Sulawesi).

This incident is a scenario in the Joint Exercise for Combating Oil Spills at Sea or known as the Regional Marpolex 2022 in Makassar which has been held from Tuesday 24 May to Friday 27 May.

In the exercise, Indonesia was represented by the Directorate General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) through the Directorate of Marine and Coastal Guard Units, the Philippines was represented by the Phillippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Japan by the Japan Coast Guard (JCG).

"In this practical exercise, the capabilities of the Indonesian, Filipino and Japanese coastal personnel will be tested," said the Director of the Marine and Coast Guard, Capt. Weku Karuntu in a statement in Jakarta, Thursday.

He said the wet exercise which was held this morning, Thursday, May 26, in Makassar waters, was carried out with the concept of a real situation scenario, in which the MT Palu Sipat ship carrying 1.3 million barrels of oil collided with a ship with 393 passengers including 30 crew on the other side. southeast of Makassar Port.

This collision caused the ship to catch fire and as much as 800 barrels of bulk oil spilled into the sea. A total of 6 crew members of the MT Palu Sipat ship were also reported missing because they jumped into the sea.

The use of the concept of a real situation scenario, continued Weku, is expected not only to test the preparedness and skills of personnel and equipment in handling oil spills, but also to test procedures for dealing with oil spills by involving the assistance of neighboring countries.

"In the wet exercise scenario at the Regional Marpolex 2022 title, the Philippine and Japanese coast guard personnel will work closely with the Indonesian Marine and Coast Guard/KPLP personnel to carry out search and rescue operations, fire fighting, and oil spill prevention," Weku explained.

His party is committed to demonstrating the expertise and skills to overcome oil pollution in the sea as well as possible so that it can bring the name of the Indonesian nation as a maritime country with reliable and professional resources.

"We will demonstrate the capabilities and skills of KPLP personnel who are professional and have high integrity, as well as demonstrate the existence of capable and reliable Indonesian marine and coastal guards," he said.