"The case is still being investigated. We assume the crude oil came from Sumatra and was to be sent to Singapore," sea battle group commander of the Indonesian Western Fleet Command Commodore Harjo Susmoro, said during a press conference here on Saturday.
He added that he did not know where the 485 tons of crude oil, worth about Rp2 billion, originated from.
"Over the past week we have questioned six crew members of the MT Zonda, who are all Indonesian citizens. Based on the investigation, the crude oil was transferred from another ship to the Singapore-bound tanker," he said.
He added that he was unsuccessful in contacting the owner of the tanker, who is a Singapore resident.
MT Zonda was impounded when its crew members failed to present a loading permit, business permit and shipping permit. Also, authorities said the ship's automatic identifying system (AIS), used to automatically detect its position, had malfunctioned.
Further, the tanker's crew members were not carrying proper shipping documents, he said.
"We will investigate the case thoroughly. We have been coordinating with the public prosecutors office and the police to learn more about the embezzlement of the crude oil," he said.
(S012/INE/A014)
Reporting by Donatus Dasapurna Putranta
(KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
