Indonesia re-auctions seized tanker cargo off Batam

By Romel S. Gurky

Indonesia’s Asset Recovery Agency, under the Attorney General’s Office, is re-auctioning a large cargo of seized crude oil aboard the tanker MT Arman 114 after a previous sale attempt failed to attract buyers.

The agency said in a notice that it would auction about 166,975 metric tons, or roughly 1.25 million barrels, of light crude oil currently stored on the vessel, which is anchored in waters off Batu Ampar in Batam, Riau Islands Province.

The auction is being conducted through the Kantor Pelayanan Kekayaan Negara dan Lelang (KPKNL) Batam, with bids submitted via the government’s online auction portal. The bidding process opened upon listing and will close at 9:00 a.m. Jakarta time on April 24, with the winner to be determined shortly thereafter.

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The latest auction follows an earlier attempt in late January, after a December 2025 sale failed to result in a transaction.

The tanker and its cargo were seized by Indonesian authorities after the vessel was found conducting an illegal ship-to-ship oil transfer in July 2023. A court later ordered the forfeiture of the ship and its cargo following the conviction in absentia of the vessel’s captain on pollution charges.

The cargo is being offered on an “as is, where is” basis, with the vessel remaining at its current location in Batam waters.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak