Asia/Pacific News
Double Vessel Arrest Over Fuel Smuggling in East Singapore, Illegal Bunkering in Indonesia
Two tankers, Urban Success (IMO number 8617615) and Virgo (IMO number 8617615), were arrested in late April by the Indonesian Marine Police (IMP) over illegal bunkering activity, IHS Maritime 360 reports.
The first arrest occurred on April 25 in the Strait off Batam, Indonesia, when the Urban Success, an oil products tanker with eight crew members, was apprehended by the IMP for allegedly smuggling diesel fuel from Palembang into the outer port limit in east Singapore.
The second arrest occurred on April 30 in the waters off Tanjung Kampe near Palembang, when Virgo, suspected of being the suppling vessel to Urban Success, was arrested for alleged illegal fuel oil bunkering.
IMP says the investigation showed that Urban Success was carrying nearly 700,000 litres of fuel oil without legal documents or port clearance, and 697,000 litres of fuel oil are said to have been transferred from Virgo to Urban Success.
Further inspection of Virgo turned up three sets of ship documents, indicating that the tanker was renamed and repainted immediately after every bunkering operation.
Although operators of Virgo had fled before the vessel was arrested, authorities say they managed to seize three crew members in connection incident.
The IMP says it had been monitoring vessel movement and tracking the alleged smuggling for a few months prior to the arrests.
In January, the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that marine fuel theft driving rise in global ship hijackings.
