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KNKT probes Panamanian vessel in Balikpapan oil spill
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Fire on board: Two tugboats attempt to extinguish a fire on the deck of the MV Ever Judger, a Panamanian flag cargo vessel, on March 31 in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan. (Antara/Sheravim)
T
he National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) said on Thursday that it was analyzing data on the black box of the MV Ever Judger, a Panamanian flag cargo vessel that has been accused of breaking an undersea pipeline on March 31 in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan.
The burst pipeline caused an oil spill that covered 127,000 hectares of Balikpapan Bay and the Makassar Strait.
KNKT head Soerjanto Tjahjono said the vessel’s black box recorded conversations among the ship's officers on the raised stern platform, between the ship's officers and crew, and between the ship and port officials.
The ship's officers comprise the captain, the helmsman and the chief engineer.
Tjahjono said the commission was trying to obtain a clear recording by removing ambient noises, after which it would take down a written transcript of the recorded conversations.
“We will focus our work on cleaning the conversations recorded from March 30, when the MV Ever Judger dropped anchor in Balikpapan Bay, until early Saturday, March 31, when all crew members had to leave the vessel because it caught fire,” said Tjahjono.
However, he said, the results of the KNKT's investigation, including the transcripts of the conversations, would not be used as evidence in a legal process. The commission would use the information it gathered to draft a recommendation to prevent similar incidents from happening.
Tjahjono said the KNKT would need around four months to complete its investigation. (ebf)
