Batam administration urges owner to refloat ship

BATAM: The Batam Municipal Administration has urged the owner of a MV Hyundai 105 to salvage the ship from the bottom of the sea.

"We have decided that the ship should be removed, it is in the way of sea transportation," head of the city's environmental impact agency, Dendi N Pur-nomo, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Dendi said the administration had met with the owner of the ship and their lawyers several times. "We want the ship and its contents to be refloated."

The ship, which contained 4,000 imported cars from South Korea, collided with the MT Kaminesan 5 kilometers from Batu Ampar seaport in May, 2004, before it sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Port Security Officer at Batam Harbor, Agus Surachman, said the owner of the ship had paid Rp 2 billion (about US$200,000) in compensation to the Batam chapter of the All Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI) for the damage it had caused.

"But the money was taken away by the chairman of the association. The case is still being investigated by the Riau Islands police," Agus revealed. - JP