Foreign Ships Steal Fish, Buy Crew Members, and Transport Fuel Allegedly Type of Subsidies

“Strange bartering” occurs in the Arafura Sea. Foreign ship deposits 100 tons of fish. The Indonesian ship supplies 150 tons of fuel and 58 crew members.

DOKUMENTASI KEMENTERIAN KELAUTAN DAN PERIKANAN

The Indonesian fish carrier vessel, KM MUS, was captured by the supervisory apparatus of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in the early hours of Sunday (14/4/2024) in the Arafura Sea, Maluku. The fish carrier vessel was involved in multidimensional crimes, namely transferring fish cargoes from foreign vessels in the middle of the sea, smuggling fuel, and human trafficking.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Orca 06 Monitoring Vessel belonging to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries succeeded in securing a fish transport ship from Indonesia which had carried out transshipment (transshipment) with two vessels foreign fish in the Arafura Sea, Maluku. This case also reveals indications of multidimensional crimes, namely fishing theft by foreign vessels, smuggling of subsidized fuel oil, and human slavery.

Acting Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (PSDKP KKP), Pung Nugroho Saksono, who directly led the capture of the KM MUS ship in Tual, Maluku, explained that they had received information that the foreign fishing vessel was stealing fish in the Indonesian Fisheries Management Area (WPP NRI) 718 Arafura Sea. Involved in the incident was an Indonesian fish transport ship that was in the process of transferring fish from the foreign fishing vessel.

Also read: Illegal Fishing Boats Still a Threat

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has ordered immediate security for the case. The KKP fisheries monitoring vessels deployed for the ship arrest operation were Orca 04, Orca 05, Orca 06, Paus 01, and airborne surveillance aircraft which were divided into several operational sectors.

Through tracking with the ship monitoring system of the Control Center (VMS Pusdal) of the Maritime Security Agency, the position of the Indonesian fishing vessel was obtained. Subsequently, the KP Orca 06 managed to secure the KM MUS on April 14, 2024, in the early hours of the morning in the Arafura Sea, at coordinate point 05° 30.422" LS-133° 59.005" BT.

SATRIO PANGARSO WISANGGENI

KRI John Lie (358) is on standby near the dock of the Natuna Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center, Riau Islands, on Wednesday (January 8, 2020). This ship is one of seven warships deployed by the Indonesian National Defense Forces following the emergence of fish theft in the North Natuna Sea by a Chinese-flagged fishing boat.

Transfer of fish and fuel cargo

As a skilled translator at a reputable news media agency, I am not allowed to translate certain forbidden words such as PBB, PKS, and PPP. Therefore, I will provide a translation of the articles without these words. Original Article: Masalah polusi udara bukan hal baru. Kondisi masyarakat yang terancam polusi udara pun sudah lama terjadi. Bukti-bukti riset yang menunjukkan ancaman dari dampak polusi udara juga tidak sedikit. Namun, hal itu nyatanya belum mampu mendorong adanya upaya yang signifikan dalam pengendalian polusi udara. Warga pun semakin sengsara hidup dalam kepungan polusi udara. English Translation: The issue of air pollution is not a new one. The condition of the community threatened by air pollution has been going on for a long time. There is also no shortage of research evidence indicating the threats of air pollution's impacts. However, in reality, this has not been able to push for significant efforts in controlling air pollution. Residents are increasingly suffering, living in the midst of air pollution. Original Article: Dari hasil pemeriksaan, kapal ikan Indonesia KM MUS terindikasi menerima 100 ton ikan hasil alih muatan dari dua kapal asing ilegal, yakni KIA RZ 03 dan 05. Sebanyak 100 ton ikan itu diduga merupakan hasil tangkapan kapal asing selama lima hari, dengan jenis ikan antara lain ikan layur, kakap merah, dan kakap putih. English Translation: Based on the examination results, the Indonesian fishing vessel KM MUS was found to have received 100 tons of fish as a transshipment from two illegal foreign vessels, namely KIA RZ 03 and 05. The 100 tons of fish were suspected to have been caught by foreign vessels over a period of five days, including types of fish such as mackerel, red snapper, and white snapper.

On the contrary, KM MUS supplied suspected subsidized fuel to the two foreign ships in the middle of the sea. On those foreign ships, solar fuel was found in the fish holds. KM MUS was also suspected of distributing 58 Indonesian crew members to those illegal foreign ships.

Also read: The Threat of Illegal Fishing Boats in Indonesian Waters

Pung added that, from the examination of the ship manual book in the steering room, it was recorded that 870 drums or 150 tons of diesel fuel (BBM) were stored in the hold. Of that amount, some had already been supplied to two foreign ships RZ 03 and 05, as well as some of its partner ships. The diesel fuel is suspected to be subsidized.

"The captain did not admit his actions. However, our officers checked several cellphones from the crew and found photos and videos of the results of the transshipment between KM MUS and foreign fishing vessels. "From the video, the KM MUS captain finally admitted his actions, having received a cargo of 100 tons of fish from the foreign ship," said Pung, in a written statement, Wednesday (17/4/2024).

KOMPAS/EDNA CAROLINE PATTISINA

KN Pulau Marore 322 secured two MT type ships which were carrying out ship to ship, Sunday (24/1). The two ships are suspected of carrying out illegal fuel transfers

Pung added that from the examination of the case, three indications of multidimensional crimes were revealed. First, the Indonesian fishing vessel is suspected of supplying subsidized fuel to foreign vessels. Second, fish theft by foreign vessels, part of which is then transferred to Indonesian fishing vessels. Third, indications of human slavery (human trafficking).

BBM diesel has always been intended for the people and fishermen of the homeland, not for foreign ships without permits. Currently, KKP supervision vessels are still operating at sea to continue pursuing KIA RZ 03 and 05.

”This is a case of extraordinary crime. The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has ordered the case to be developed and thoroughly investigated to its roots. "We hope that, in the future, no more Indonesian ships will cooperate with illegal foreign ships," said Pung.