The Ministry Of Environment And Forestry Has Determined That The Captain Of The MT Arman Vessel With Iranian Flags Is A Suspect In The B3 Waste Disposal In Natuna

A press conference on the determination of the suspect MAM, an Egyptian citizen who disposed of B3 waste in Batam, Riau Islands. (ANTARA/Yude)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) has named the captain of the MT Arman 114 ship with the Iranian flag with the initials MAM (42) as a suspect in the disposal of B3 waste or black waste in Natuna Waters, Riau Islands (Kepri).

The Director General of Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement Rasio Ridho Sani said that the determination of this suspect was an advanced process of the results of the arrests made by Bakamla RI on the MT Arman 114 ship on July 7, 2023. "The Egyptian citizen's MAM has been named a suspect by KLHK investigators, for the disposal of waste in Natuna Waters, Riau Islands some time ago," he said during a press conference in Batam, Riau Islands (Kepri), Friday, October 13, was confiscated by Antara. He explained that MAM was named an individual suspect because it was responsible for ordering the disposal of black oil waste into Natuna Waters. The suspect was charged with layered articles based on Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management. Article 104 is the suspicion of disposing waste and/or material into the living environment media without a permit with a maximum imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum fine of Rp10 billion.

Meanwhile, the Director of Criminal Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Yazid Nurhuda, said that the handling of this case was the result of the Bakamla RI operation on July 7, 2023, which arrested the MT Arman 114 ship for allegedly causing marine environmental pollution in Natuna Waters.

The MT Arman 114 ship carried a light crude oil or crude oil cargo of approximately 272,629,067 MT and carried out waste disposal from the stern drain hole to the left of the ship when it transferred crude oil from the ship to the ship by the MT S-Tinos Ship in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Natuna Sea. "After receiving the report from Bakamla, his party immediately carried out a test of the black waste sample in the laboratory."After there were results from the laboratory test, and a statement from the B3 waste expert, that it was true that what was disposed of by MT Arman was B3 waste," he said. Not only that, his party was also collecting other evidence, so that his party could establish MAM as a suspect in this case. "At this time the development process is still ongoing, and we have also asked for instructions to the Riau Islands High Prosecutor's Office. Hopefully in the near future we can submit the report to the Prosecutor's Office for further processing," he said.