Asia/Pacific News
Oil Tanker Apprehended by Indonesian Authorities
A tanker suspected of an illegal ship-to-ship transfer has been seized by Indonesian coast guard.
The Iranian-flagged ship, MT Arman 114, was carrying 272,569 metric tonnes of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 m), when it was seized last week.
The VLCC was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on 7 July, according to Reuters.
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, Indonesia's maritime security chief, Aan Kurnia, said.
"MT Arman was spoofing their automatic identification system to show its position was in the Red Sea but in reality it is here," Aan was quoted as saying.
Aan added that the vessel also dumped oil into the ocean, in violation of Indonesia's environmental law.
A 'shadow' fleet of tankers carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela has been transferring cargoes in the Singapore Strait to avoid detection, according to a Reuters analysis.
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, the report said.
