Mystery Bunker Spill in Indonesian Waters

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday June 8, 2015

The cause of an oil spill in Indonesia's Penyu Bay late last month remains unknown after laboratory tests cleared product tanker Martha Petrol of being the source, IHS Maritime 360 reports.

State-owned Pertamina originally suspected the tanker because it had damaged its hull on some coral reefs in early May while being unloaded in in single-point mooring (SPM) facilities, reportedly spilling Arabian light crude oil into the water. 

However tests were said to show the pollutant is marine fuel oil.

According to Pertamina Cilacap general manager Nyoman Sukadana, the Martha Petrol was also ruled out because the spill does not match the original position of the tanker when accounting for wind movement. 

According to the country's meteorology agency, the winds during the latter part of the month primarily blew East and Southeast

"Therefore, the spread of SPM oil spill was supposed to move to southwards to Nusa Kambangan, not to Penyu Bay," said Pertamina health, safety and environment manager Leodan Hadin.

In 2013, the Directorate-General of Sea Transportation of Indonesia, along with bodies in Malaysia and Singapore, issued a pamphlet aimed at addressing safety issues in the region after three separate vessel collisions over a 13 day period caused bunker spills