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Salvaged treasure remains 'untouched'
Thousands of valuable objects salvaged from sunken vessels (BMKT) in Riau Islands waters sit idly in government warehouses
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housands of valuable objects salvaged from sunken vessels (BMKT) in Riau Islands waters sit idly in government warehouses.
At the end of March, more treasure was found when the Special Police for the Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands (Polsus PWP3K) seized 3,680 pieces of earthenware from a group of professional divers off Numbing Island, Riau Islands.
The Directorate General of Maritime and Fisheries Resources Monitoring Task Force (PSDKP) wants the valuable objects, amounting to millions of items, immediately auctioned off so the proceeds can go to state coffers.
'Then, nine professional divers were hauling the valuable items from the seabed. Thousands of the items had already been placed in a box aboard the boat. We are still accessing the value of the items at the lab,' said PSDKP director general Syahrin Abdurrahman.
He said that theft of precious sunken items was rampant in the area. Indonesia is home to 463 sunken vessels, eight of which are in Riau Islands province.
According to Syahrin, a moratorium on sunken treasure was issued by former maritime affairs and fisheries minister Fredy Numberi.
'There are millions of pieces of salvaged items stored in three Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's warehouses. We have asked the government to auction off the items and the proceeds added to state coffers, which could be used for the interests of the nation and state,' said Syahrin.
According to Syahrin, it would be appropriate to keep some of the items as samples, such as for research or as museum exhibits, while the Directorate General of Culture wants all of the items to be placed in a museum.
'We are currently facing difficulties in paying for their maintenance. Actually, such items should have benefits for us and for the nation. I believe auctioning them off would be one of the solutions,'
said Syahrin.
According to Syahrin, the precious objects placed at the ministry's warehouse in Pluit, North Jakarta, are often used by students from archeological schools for research, while the other warehouses have been neglected.
'Since the moratorium was put into effect, we, with our limited number of patrol boats, have secured the sunken boat points. Theft is rife because the objects are of high historical and economic value,' he added.
