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Islands in focus: Iron ore freighter hits reef near Batam
BATAM: A Hong Kong-flagged Iranian MV Ocean carrier, sailing from Iran, hit a coral reef off Sambu Island, Batam, Riau Islands, early on Wednesday
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ATAM: A Hong Kong-flagged Iranian MV Ocean carrier, sailing from Iran, hit a coral reef off Sambu Island, Batam, Riau Islands, early on Wednesday.
The vessel, carrying a huge volume of iron ore, remains stranded as it awaits salvage.
The local port authority and the Indonesian Navy are monitoring the vessel's condition in anticipation of ship fuel or cargo pollution.
Sambu Island Port Authority head Rudi Widjanarko told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the evacuation of the ship could take up to a
week. However, the agent handling the ship evacuation has not begun work as yet.
'The evacuation needs a week. It has yet to commence. We dive in order to look for damage that could cause an oil or cargo spill. It is currently being inspected,' said Rudi.
According to Rudi, reports of the incident had reached Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan in Jakarta and he had ordered maximum handling to prevent potentially disastrous sea pollution.
'The ship, sailing from Iran to China, reached half way. The ship is laden with iron ore, not uranium. We have inspected the documents and data submitted to us,' said Rudi.
