The MT Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 tons of light crude
oil, valued at US$304 million, when it was seized last week, the Indonesian
authorities said.
The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of
transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on Friday, the Southeast
Asian nation's maritime security agency said.
The vessel was captured after being spotted in Indonesia's
North Natuna Sea, carrying out a ship-to-ship oil transfer with the
Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, the agency's chief, Aan Kurnia, said.
"MT Arman was spoofing their automatic identification
system (AIS) to show its position was in the Red Sea but in reality it was
here," Aan told reporters.
"So it seems like they already had a malicious
intent," Aan said, adding that the vessel also dumped oil into the ocean,
in violation of Indonesia's environmental law.
The vessels' operators could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Along with the Arman, authorities detained its Egyptian
captain, 28 crew and 3 passengers, who were the family of a security officer on
board, the agency said.
After the two supertankers attempted to escape, authorities
focused their pursuit on Arman, assisted by Malaysian authorities as the vessel
sailed into their waters, Aan said.
The Tinos was supposed to have been scrapped in 2018, he
added. It was built in 1999 while the Arman was built in 1997, according to
shipping database Equasis.
The "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil
from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela has been transferring cargoes in the
Singapore Strait to avoid detection, a Reuters analysis showed this year.
The risk of oil spills and accidents is growing as hundreds
of extra ships, some without insurance cover, have joined the opaque parallel
trade over the past few years.
Aan vowed that Indonesia's coast guard, assisted by other
authorities, would strengthen patrols in its waters. Indonesia is the world's
largest archipelago, with about 17,000 islands.
"We have to be firm, tough," he said. "There
has to be a deterrent effect so it will not happen again."
In 2021, Indonesia seized Iranian- and Panamanian-flagged
vessels over similar accusations. The captains of the two vessels received
two-year probation from an Indonesian court.
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