National

During 2005, 500 Foreign Ships Have Been Impounded
Wednesday, 31 August, 2005 | 01:24 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Manado, North Sulawesi:During 2005, around 500 foreign flag ships have been seized and impounded in the waters of Eastern Indonesia.

After being seized, these ships were then processed and examined.

“During the January to August period, 500 ships have been examined,” said Eastern Region Maritime Security Task Commander Commodore Sadikin, following the closing of an Indonesia Philippines joint patrol in Davao on Tuesday (30/08).

According to Sadikin, some ships do possess official documentation, so therefore they can be released.

If any ship is connected to illegal logging crimes, the forestry department will handle the case.

If any case involves immigration affairs, then this will be handed over to the immigration authorities.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Navy directly handles any case related to fishing.

Sadikin said that most of the foreign ships impounded were from China and Thailand, with the worst violations taking place in the Arafuru Sea.

In order to reduce this problem, the government is now controlling the processing of documents more tightly because some ships use fake documents.

Commander of the Eastern Region Navy Base in Mindanao, Commodore Calunsag, said that some Philippine ships had permits to enter the waters of Indonesia but some did not.

Ships that do not have a permit to enter Indonesia’s waters must be impounded and processed according to existing regulations.

“If there is any violation as regards permits, then the ship concerned must be impounded,” stated Calunsag.
(Verrianto Madjowa-Tempo News Room)