BPMIGAS blacklists MT Martha Global ship

By Demas Simbolon

Upstream authority BPMIGAS has placed MT Martha Global into a blacklist following the seizure of the ship by the customs office on Karimun island in the province of Riau islands.

?From our perspective, the law violation conducted by MT Martha Global did not cause financial loss to the state, because the government will be able to claim the payment of the crude oil from Pertamina as the buyer at least after 20 days from the shipment,? BPMIGAS Chairman R. Priyono said in a hearing with the commission VII of the House of Representatives.

However, he said, the ship had been put into the blacklist for violating existing regulations. Being put in the blacklist means a ban in operation anywhere within the Indonesian waters.

MT Martha Global, which carried the government?s crude oil from the Duri field in Riau, was seized by the customs office near the Karimun island on Sept. 19 for allegedly trying to ship the crude outside the country without proper documents.

The ship was leased by Pertamina to transport the crude oil to its refinery plant in Cilacap. But, instead of going to Cilacap, the ship headed to the Malaysian water, Priyono said.

According to Priyono, the government would not suffer financial loss from the incident because the crude was sold to Pertamina under free on board. He said all the government?s crude oil is sold under free-on-board scheme to help reduce risks.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana