Indonesia Arrests Five Malaysian Ship Pirates

Batam, MINA – A Malaysian-flagged barge was crashed while crossing the waters of Karang Banteng, Riau Islands on Sunday. At that time, the barge Linau-133 was being towed by the Danum 50 tug baot which also had the Malaysian flag.

The theft in the middle of the sea was detected by the Siwar-646 Republic of Indonesia Battleship (KRI) that was passing in the same waters, Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.

KRI Siwar detected two speedboats that were berthed beside the Linau-133 barge and suspected that the crew had transferred some of the material onto the speedboat.

Once developed it was proven that it was a theft activity.

“This situation is very detrimental to us. The trust of domestic and international sea users will diminish,” said Commander of the Fleet I Marine Security Group First Admiral Yayan Sofyan at the Batam Navy Base on Monday.

According to Yayan, during 2020 alone there were 65,839 ships crossing the Malacca Strait and Singapore.

“If only 20 percent carried out harbor service in Indonesian territory, they could lose their trust because of this [theft] action,” said Yayan.

During the pursuit and investigation, Indonesian Navy officers secured the five suspected perpetrators of this marine crime who turned out to be Indonesian citizens (WNI).

The five of them were two speedboat drivers and three other people who committed theft on the boat.

The Indonesian Navy also secured two boats and 150 kg of iron alternating weight from the ship that was tampered with.

The examination of the suspected perpetrators and witnesses was carried out on board the KRI Siwar-646 and continued at the Batam Navy Base command headquarters.

One of the alleged perpetrators admitted that the theft on the ship was assisted by the crew of the Malaysian-flagged ship.

“Yes, there is cooperation with the crew,” said one perpetrator.

Commander of the Fleet I Marine Security Group First Admiral TNI Yayan Sofyan asked the names and roles of the crew to be revealed for further processing. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)