MT King Fisher allegedly violate ruling
Tuesday, April 25 2000 - 02:30 AM WIB
Minister of Sea Exploration and Fishery Sarwono Kusumaatmadja called on the authority to keep in custody the MT King Fisher oil tanker because it had violated shipping rulings and polluted the local seawaters.
Sarwono also demanded the King Fisher owner to pay compensation for the pollution.
Sarwono was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying on Monday that a ship with 80,000 tons weight must use a double hull, but MT King Fisher uses a single hull.
He also said that there was suspicion that MT King Fisher entered the Cilacap Port without using the required guiding system.
MT King Fisher collided with a rock in the waters of Cilacap, Central Java, early this month, throwing some 4,000 barrels of oil into the waters causing serious pollution.
The government is trying to get the owner of MT King Fisher to pay compensation for the environmental damage.
But Sarwono said that the government might face difficulties to win the case because of the weak legal infrastructure in the country, except if the people living nearby the Cilacap waters hold a class action against MT King Fisher.
But he said that there's still a chance for the government to win the case.(*)