Indramayu sea heavily polluted due to oil leakage

Crude oil spill believed to come from leaked oil pipelines has caused a serious pollution on the sea along the 25-kilometer Indramayu beach in West Java. The sea pollution which has taken place for at least one month, has also halted local villagers? fishing activities, Koran Tempo reported on Thursday.

According to the head of the fishery office in Indramayu, Darsono, the oil spill affected the sea along the 25-kilometer coastal area between Sindang district and Juntinyua district. "Almost all fishing activities are halted because no more people want to buy the fish caught from the area," he said.

Pertamina which operates an oil pipeline network along the coastal area has denied that the oil spill come from its pipeline. Oil companies BP Indonesia and Maxus whose tankers often use the Indramayu sea as their route also reject the accusation.

The local mining office in Indramayu recently sent a sample of the oil spill to Sucofindo and IPB Bogor to determine the sources of the oil spill. (*)