Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - A navy official announced on Wednesday that the captain of a petroleum tanker who was detained by the In...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - A navy official announced on Wednesday that the captain of a petroleum tanker who was detained by the Indonesian navy in May on suspicion of forcibly anchoring in its seas has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and a fine of 200 million rupiah ($13,350).
The Nord Joy, a tanker carrying oil products and flying the flag of Panama, was stopped on May 30 while anchored in Indonesian waters east of the Singapore Strait, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
According to two people involved in the negotiations, Indonesian navy officers requested an unofficial payment of $375,000 in order to release the warship, Reuters was informed at the time.
The ship was being detained, according to the Indonesian military, for illegally anchoring in its seas, which was denied any such payment request. The Nord Joy's manager, Synergy Group, likewise stated that it was not aware of any financial requests made by the navy.
Vivek Kumar, the ship's captain, received a jail sentence and a fine from a court on July 7, according to a statement from the Navy's Julius Widjojono to Reuters.
After a court proceeding on Batam, an Indonesian island south of Singapore that is home to an Indonesian navy facility, a Synergy Group representative stated that the company's vessel had been released.
According to Refinitiv ship tracking information, the tanker, which is 183 metres (600.39 feet) long and has a capacity of up to 350,000 barrels of petroleum, is currently anchored to the west of Singapore on its way to Tanjung Pelepas port in Malaysia.
Twelve comparable detentions by the Indonesian navy in the waters east of Singapore were reported by Reuters last year. In those situations, the vessels were released after the ship owners made covert payments of roughly $300,000 each.
The navy disputes the existence of such payments.
(1 USD = 14,977.0000 Rp)
