Allegedly Smuggling Practices, Indonesian Navy Seizes 2 Tankers Loading Palm Oil

Indonesian Navy Seizes 2 Tankers Loading Palm Oil/Photo: VOI

PONTIANAK - The Indonesian Navy through elements of the Fleet Command I KRI Beladau-643 managed to capture the MT Tanker ship. World Progress is currently sailing from Dumai to India in the Malacca Strait and MT. Annabelle from Kijing Pontianak to Shajarh, UAE in the waters of West Kalimantan, Thursday 28 April.

Commander of the Fleet Command I (Pangkoarmada I) Rear Admiral TNI Arsyad Abdullah said "Koarmada I as the Operational City of the Indonesian Navy in charge of carrying out operations in the context of military operations for war and military operations other than war implements by holding operations to enforce sovereignty and law in the seas of Indonesia's national jurisdiction. intensively "

"The intensity of the sea operations carried out by the Indonesian Navy, in this case the First Commando has paid off, KRI Beladau-643 captured the MT tanker. World Progress which transported 34,854.3 MT of Palm Olein in the waters of the Malacca Strait which is Indonesian territorial waters on Wednesday, April 27 morning," he said.

MT. World Progress is a Liberian-flagged tanker, captained by Belov Alexander, a Russian national with a crew of 22 foreigners (7 Russia, 6 Ukraine, 9 India) suspected of violating documents with the ship's GT specifications listed in one document being different from other documents as well as engine capacity specifications. the impetus stated in one of the documents is different from the other documents where it is a violation of Article 302 paragraph (2) Jo. Article 117 paragraph (2) of Law no. 17 of 2008 concerning Shipping.

"Besides that in a separate place, KRI Siribua-859 also captured the MT tanker. Annabelle who transported 13,357,425 MT of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and 98 drums of Methanol (5 sealed drums and 93 drums have been used in the waters of West Kalimantan," he continued.

MT. Annabelle is a Marshal Island-flagged tanker, captained by Zhao Junfeng, a Chinese citizen with a crew of 24 Chinese citizens, suspected of committing a criminal offense of carrying a cargo of methanol without documents for transporting dangerous goods, which violates Article 294 paragraph (1) of the Republic of Indonesia Law No. . 17 of 2008 regarding shipping and RI Law no. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation.

MT arrest. World Progress and MT. Annabelle is the implementation of the leadership's order, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Yudo Margono, who ordered all elements of the operations of the Indonesian Navy to increase surveillance and tight security, as well as arrest and process the law if they find any export of crude palm oil (CPO) or palm oil along with its derivatives which have been officially prohibited from exporting by the government.

"Kasal has also emphasized that he fully supports government policies in efforts to restore the national economy and structural reforms with upright loyalty," said Pangkoarmada I.

Allegedly, smuggling or shipping of oil and oil raw materials abroad is one of the causes of the scarcity of cooking oil and the current high price of basic commodities in the country. This problem is a serious concern for the government, including the Navy.

Furthermore, Admiral TNI Arsyad Abdullah said that in the last two weeks TNI AL Koarmada I had arrested 5 ships carrying palm oil and its derivatives which were currently under investigation.

KRI Beladau-643 commanded by Marine Major (P) Nana Suryana then led MT. World Progress to be submitted and further processed by the Indonesian Navy Base (Lanal) Dumai. Meanwhile, KRI Siribua-859 was commanded by Marine Major (P) Jasmin Mudianto, who then escorted MT. Annabelle headed to the Pontianak Navy XII Main Base for further investigations.