Navy seizes boat carrying fuel from China

The Navy has arrested five sailors and seized their boat, which was carrying some 100 metric tons of fuel, allegedly smuggled in from China, an officer said Thursday as quoted by Antara.

The deputy chief of the main naval base in Surabaya, Col. Bambang Supriyanto, said the boat was seized on Monday in the waters off Maluku.

However, he could not identify the size or weight of the seized vessel. Nor could he say exactly where the boat departed from.

"All (the arrested) sailors claim they departed from China," Bambang was quoted as saying, adding the ship was not carrying the necessary documents for the fuel.

Prior to the more than 100 percent fuel price increases in October, most of the fuel smuggling in the country involved fuel from Indonesia being smuggled to other counties.

According to Bambang, the Navy is now questioning the five sailors, including the boat's captain Liu Chan Hua.

He said he would ask state-owned oil company Pertamina to examine the fuel, but he suspects it is diesel fuel.

He said the detainees had violated the Law on Oil and Gas, the Law on Shipping and the Law on Immigration, and if convicted of all charges could face up to four years in prison.

Citing confessions from the sailors, he said the fuel was to be sold to foreign ships in Indonesian waters. (*)