olice have seized Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel MV Ever Judger 2 as evidence for their investigation into a fatal fire reportedly caused by a burst undersea pipeline belonging to state oil and gas Pertamina in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, on March 31.
The vessel is tied up to a dock in Semayang Port waters.
“The confiscation is in line with a Balikpapan District Court order,” the East Kalimantan Police’s special crime investigation directorate head, Sr.Comr. Yustan Alpiani, said on Tuesday. Four personnel were deployed to guard the vessel on Tuesday evening.
The police have asked the immigration office to ban MV Ever Judger crew members from leaving Indonesia for investigation purposes. They are among 54 people the police have questioned as witnesses.
MV Ever Judger 2 reportedly entered Balikpapan Bay waters on March 29 to pick up coal in northern Balikpapan Bay.
Semayang Port Authority head Sanggam Marihot said the vessel, which was carrying 78,000 tons of coal, was en route to waters outside Indonesian territory on the evening of March 30.
Alpiani said the oil spill was reported to have spread across Balikpapan Bay at 3 a.m. on March 31, while at that time, only the MV Ever Judger 2 had been sailing in waters above the burst pipeline.
The oil spill caused a massive fire, killing five fishermen and polluting Balikpapan Bay. (ebf)
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