Thai company will pay for Timor oil spill

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 07/31/2010 11:37 AM

PTTEP Australasia has agreed to pay Indonesia compensation for damage to its territory near Timor from an oil spill caused by the Thai company’s rig, an official says.

“They have agreed to pay our claim,” Indonesian advocacy team leader Masnellyarti Hilman said.

An exact amount for compensation is still being calculated by the Indonesian government since the oil slick has expanded to cover over 66,000 square kilometers (sqm) of the Timor Sea.

More than 500,000 tons of oil spilled into the Timor Sea after a PTTEP Australasia oil platform exploded in the Montara field off Australia’s north coast in August 2009.

Negotiators from Indonesia and PTTEP Australasia met for the first time Tuesday in Perth. The two parties have not yet scheduled meetings.

The team will ask the National Aeronautic and Aviation Agency (LAPAN) to perform modelling on the areas affected by the spill before proposing a final amount for compensation, Masnellyarti said.

“We will collect supporting data from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, which previously reported a level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAH] that exceeded marine water quality standards,” she added.

Samples collected by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources indicate that the hydrocarbons now found in the Timor Sea were similar to samples taken from the Montara platform, she added.

The Environment Ministry said its analysis showed the quality of sea water in Timor Sea failed to meet tolerable levels set by Indonesian government.

The ministry sampled sea water in five different areas.

It said that the total suspended density (TSS) of particulate matter in the samples was at 147 milligram per liter (mg/l), far higher than the tolerable level of 20 mg/l.

The East Nusa Tenggara environmental agency also found physical and chemical contamination from the oil spill that exceeded the tolerable level set by the Indonesian government.

The Montara field was developed by the Norwegian and Bermudan-owned Seadrill company and operated by PTTEP Australasia, a unit of PTT, the Thai state-owned oil and gas company.

The company’s oil platform exploded spilled more than 500,000 liters of crude oil into the Timor Sea.

Thirty-eight percent of Indonesia’s sea territory in the Timor Sea was affected by the spill, local fishermen’s catches dropped and thousands of tons of dead shallow water fish and whales were discovered.

The spill also destroyed seaweed farms cultivated by coastal communities in East Nusa Tenggara.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, who is the head of the National Team for Ocean Oil Spill Emergency Situations, previously said the government asked PTTEP Australasia to pay US$5 million in initial compensation to repair environmental damage from the spill.

The initial payment will cover the short-term impacts of the spill, such as losses suffered by fishermen and seaweed farmers in the area, and is estimated to exceed Rp 247 billion, he said

“That was the figure when the oil spill area was still around 56,000 sqm. Now that the area extends over 66,000 sqm. We must recalculate the figure,” he said.

The East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration estimated damage from the oil spill in the short term could reach Rp 806.17 billion.

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Damage Claims in Timor Oil Spill Keep Spreading

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran& Fidelis E Satriastanti, July 29, 2010

Jakarta. Government officials on Thursday said more compensation was needed to pay for the Timor Sea oil spill, because the coastal residents faced long-term losses and the recovery process would take at least 10 years.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi declined to quote a figure, but emphasized the need for greater payments from those at fault.

“The mangroves need 10 years to recover, not to mention the fish stocks, which are only expected to return to normal after two years,” he said. “According to scientific calculations, this will take a long time, and we need money to cover the losses.”

Last August, the Montara oil rig blew out in the Timor Sea, polluting waters near East Nusa Tenggara with a large oil slick. The crude has been said to cover 16,420 square kilometers of Indonesian territorial waters.

The well, located 690 kilometers west of Darwin and operated by PTT Exploration & Production Australasia, a unit of the Thai energy major, was staunched 74 days after the spill began.

“In principal, [PTTEP] has agree to pay for losses incurred, but they need time and they need to verify claims. We have requested their data for comparison,” Freddy said.

He had earlier said officials involved in the recovery had demanded that the Thai oil company pay $5 million in reparations for the loss of business suffered by local fishing communities.

According to government data, direct losses from the oil spill add up to Rp 247 billion ($27.4 million) while indirect losses amount to Rp 42 billion.

“The East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration wanted more than Rp 800 billion, but we came up with a more pragmatic amount which doesn’t include the value of environmental losses, which account for the biggest claims,” Freddy said.

Separately, Ferdi Tanoni from the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports impoverished fishermen in Eastern Indonesia, claimed the numbers were nonsense because they were not based on scientific research.

“The numbers keep changing. It just shows how unprofessional the [recovery] team is. We have been strongly demanding that they not come forward with numbers until independent scientific investigations have been conducted,” he said.

“We cannot say for sure how long the environment will take to recover. What if it takes 30 years? Then how do we distribute the money to sustain the livelihoods of those people most effected by this spill?”

Meanwhile, Jose Martins, director and chief financial officer of PTTEP Australasia, said in a statement that no claims for compensation with verifiable evidence of any damage have been presented to the company yet.

Martins also said that the company and the government would exchange and review scientific data, and that the government would present a formal written claim to PTTEP.

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Pirates Kill Thai Fisherman off Malaysia

Jakarta Globe, April 26, 2010

Kuala Lumpur. Suspected Indonesian pirates have shot dead a Thai fisherman off the northern coast of Malaysia, police said Monday.

Hatta Mohamad Zin, local police chief in Penang state, said seven pirates approached the fishing vessel and opened fire late Sunday, killing a 24-year-old fisherman.

Another Thai on the fishing boat said he suspected the pirates were from neighboring Indonesia, based on their appearance.

“All of a sudden the boat came towards us and one of them opened fire,” he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Hatta said the pirates fled without stealing anything after seeing the fisherman lying in a pool of blood.

Agence France-Presse

Thai fishermen enter RI aboard Indonesian boats

Antara News, Thursday, April 22, 2010 02:15 WIB

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Fifty-three fishermen from Thailand have entered Indonesian waters illegally boarding Indonesian-flagged fishing boats.

"We are now holding them at the IX Main Naval Base in Ambon," Indonesian Eastern Fleet Command spokesman Lt Col Toni Syaiful said here on Wednesday.

Some of the Thai fishermen were caught when navy ship Multatuli-561, led by Lt Col Sufenri, was conducting sea security patrol in the waters near Ambon.

The navy ship when inspecting fishing boat KM Samudra Jaya during the patrol discovered 27 of 31 crew on it were Thai. At the time the boat weighing 497 gross tons were carrying 21,000 bales of fish of various species.

The navy ship meanwhile caught 26 other Thai fishermen aboard KM Maribu-8 carrying 70 tons of fish of various species.

"The two fishing boats were seized while passing from the fishing ground to Ambon," he said.

He said the fishing boats violated the rules on foreign employment and for having incomplete documents.

Meanwhile another navy ship KRI Wiratno-879 led by Major Bambang Darmawan had also seized fishing boat KM Sanjaya-61 in Sawu island waters for carrying no fishing license and proper documents.

The Indonesian-flagged ship with 12 crew on board and Kung Toni as its skipper carried one ton of fish of various kinds.

Lampung fishermen cry foul over Thai fish in local market

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung | Wed, 04/21/2010 10:24 AM

Big fish eating small fish?: Villagers sort out small fish on Pasaran Island, Lampung. It is feared local small fish businesses could go bankrupt because of uncontrolled entry of fish from Thailand at lower prices. JP/Oyos Suroso

Fishermen in Lampung are protesting against the entry of Thai anchovies and salted fish products in local markets, arguing that they could not compete with the imported commodities due to the cheaper prices.

They demanded the central government and local administrations tackle the issue in order to stabilize the price of the commodities.

“If the products enter freely and sell at unrealistically low prices in Indonesia, they are killing us slowly,” Marta, who runs an anchovy and salted fish business in Pasaran Island, Lampung, said Monday.

Marta said Thai salted fish entered Indonesia through a small port in Jambi and from there were shipped to Lampung and Jakarta from the eastern coast of Sumatra.

“We are surprised that the products can enter quite freely and can be sold for 50 percent cheaper than our products,” Marta said.

The price of a kilogram of local salted teri nasi in Lampung and Jakarta, for example, is Rp 50,000 (US$5) compared to that from Thai, which sells for between Rp 23,000 and Rp 25,000. Local salted teri jengki costs Rp 30,000 per kilogram, compared to Rp 15,000 for the Thai version.

Herza Yulianto, director of Mitra Betala, an NGO providing supervision to fishermen and coastal communities, urged the government to act quickly to deal with the impact of the influx of Thai fish products in Indonesian markets to prevent local fishermen from going bankrupt.

He said tens of thousands of traditional fishermen, vendors and others along the eastern and western coasts of Sumatra depended on the local fishing industry.

“Unless protection is given by the government, the livelihoods of all these people are threatened,” Herza said.

One measure of protection, Herza suggested, was to prevent foreign fishing fleets from directly selling their catch to buyers in Jakarta.

“It doesn’t make sense that given the same operating costs, Thai fishermen can sell their products for much less than local fishermen,” he added.

Pasaran, a 12-hectare island located off Bandarlampung, the capital of Lampung province, has long been known as Indonesia’s biggest anchovy production center, producing 5 tons of anchovies daily.

Until recently, there were 80 anchovy processors on the island. But due to stiff competition from Thai products, that number has now decreased to 43.

The producers are grouped into five clusters, each carrying halal certificates from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and hygiene certificates from the Lampung Health Agency.

Bandarlampung Mayor Eddy Sutrisno said his administration was looking into building communal storage facilities for local fishermen to store products they did not need to offload immediately.

He added that Pasaran fishermen were an integral part of the municipal economy, generating an average revenue of Rp 300 million per month per fish processor.

“The salted anchovy they produce are of good quality as they are made from freshly caught fish directly processed on the fishing boats,” Eddy said.

RI warships to be equipped with Chinese-made missiles

Antara News, Monday, December 21, 2009 18:45 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Navy`s warships will be equipped with missiles made in China, Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Agus Suhartono said here on Monday.

"We will continue to procure C-802 missiles from China after we tested the weapon with good results,` he said adding that the Indonesian Navy was also negotiating with China to obtain C-705 missiles that were more slender in shape.

"Both types of missile will be added to the armament of of the navy`s fast patrol boats and Van Speijk warships," Agus said.

He said the navy would increase the combat capabilities of its Van Speijk and fast patrol boats by integrating their armament systems with weaponry from China.

"We are still unable to make missiles domestically. But fortunately, state shipbuilding firm PT PAL already has the technology to integrate weapon systems imported from abroad with those already in place on our warships," he said.

The navy chief admitted with limited budget for his department, his officials would continue making a priority scale on the procurement of weaponry system.

"Our main priority now is security in sea border areas and the outer islands of Indonesia," he said adding that the navy would also replace some 27 of its warships with newer types and better combat capabilities.

Agus Suhartono had previously said Indonesia`s western waters were prone to various maritime crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking and poaching.

"The sea crimes are not the only problems we have in the western waters. In these areas we also have border problems with India, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia," the navy chief said.

He said that in order to maintain security in the area, the navy conducted routine patrols in the Indonesian western waters. It had maintained a joint patrols with its counterparts from India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

As a result, the maritime crime rate in the western waters had dropped , particularly in the Malacca Strait.

11 Thailand fishermen feared dead

M. Aziz Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Aru islands | Wed, 12/02/2009 3:45 PM

Eleven fishermen from Thailand are feared dead after their fishing boat KM Antasena 820 went down while sailing in Arafura waters amid bad weather last month.

A search and rescue team has now called off their search for the fishermen after three weeks with no result.

The fishermen are part of a crew of 24 Thai nationals working for a local fishing company, PT Pusaka Benjina Resources (PBR). The ship sank on Nov. 2 and claimed seven lives while another six crew members were rescued.

AKBP Solihin, head of the Aru Islands Police, said Wednesday that residents living in villages across the islands had already buried the remains of the seven fishermen.

He said he suspected bad weather was the major cause of the accident.

“Based on testimony from the ship's mate, Somkit Korannesuk, strong winds and high waves made it difficult for him to control the ship when the crews were trying to net the fish they had caught. The ship then overturned and sank,” he said.

Hermanwir Martino, a representative from the firm, confirmed that all of the crew was from Thailand. He added that the ship was not overloaded when it set off.

Team set up to calculate losses by Timor Sea pollution

Antara News, Sunday, November 22, 2009 03:30 WIB

The partially collapsed Montara well head platform and the West Atlas mobile offshore drilling unit smoldering in the Timor Sea. (Reuters Photo)

Kupang (ANTARA News) - Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has set up a national team to calculate the material losses Indonesia has suffered from pollution in the Timor Sea by an explosion at the Montara oil field, a source here said.

"The minister has already set up a national team to calculate the material losses incurred by Indonesia because of the pollution in the Timor Sea," Ferdi Tanoni, chairman of the Care West Timor Foundation (YPTB) said on the sidelines of a discussion on reform in the security sector here on Saturday.

Some 500,000 liters of crude oil spilled into the Timor Sea following an explosion at the Montara oil field on August 20, 2009.

Ferdi appreciated the establishment of the team after the East Nusa Tenggara legislative assembly (DPRD) and regional administration did not give serious attention to the problem.

"We welcome the establishment of the team from which we hope we will know howmuch Indonesia has lost because of the incident," he said.

Ferdi said "the East Nusa Tenggara provincial government and legislative assembly have not paid a serious attention to the problem by not conducting a profound study on it."

So far the central and regonal governments have ignored the rights of the East Nusa Tenggara population, the fishermen in particular while other countries in Europe had supported the YPTB to continue to fight in the case. "Our movement is supported by countries in Europe," he said.

As a result of the explosion, a lot of coral reefs and fish in the area have been polluted, he said.

He said he hoped after calculation of the loss were made Indonesia would claim compensation from the Australian government.

Earlier he said that the pollution problem was not a bilateral problem between Indonesia and Australia but a trilateral problem because Timor Leste was included in the discussion of the problem.

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Some 180 foreign fishing vessels impounded in 2009

Antara News, Thursday, November 19, 2009 04:09 WIB

Vietnanmese fishing vessels were captured for poaching in Indonesia waters by the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (DKP) for capturing in Pontianak (11/18). (ANTARA/Jessica Wuisang)Pontianak (ANTARA News) - A total of 180 foreign fishing vessels were intercepted by the Maritime Resources and Fisheries Directorate General (P2SDKP) in cooperation with the Navy and Police in 2009, a senior official said.

P2SDKP Director General Aji Sularso said here on Wednesday that the 180 foreign fishing boats were captured for poaching in Indonesian waters.

Code-named "Operasi Samudra Lestari 2009", the operations involved four units of vessels of the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (DKP), five warships of the Navy, four units of the police and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The operations were conducted mainly in Natuna and South China Seas, he said.

He said that the operations successfully saved a loss of about Rp720 billion to the state, based on an estimate that one vessel would cause a loss of Rp4 billion.

Most of the fishing boats which were taken into custody came from Thailand, Vietnam, China and Malaysia, he said.

Australian Oil Spill Clean-Up Could Take 7 Years

The Jakarta Globe

The partially collapsed Montara well head platform and the West Atlas mobile offshore drilling unit smoldering in the Timor Sea. (Reuters Photo)

Sydney. Monitoring the clean-up of a huge oil spill in pristine Australian waters could take as long as seven years, an official said on Wednesday as environmentalists urged a wide-ranging inquiry into the disaster.

As many as 28,000 barrels of oil have gushed into the Timor Sea off Western Australia’s northern coast in the 10 weeks since the West Atlas oil rig began leaking, raising concerns of an environmental disaster.

Attempts to plug the hole were delayed by the need to bring equipment from Singapore, the difficulty of the operation some 2.6 kilometers below the seabed and a fierce inferno fuelled by the leak which erupted on Sunday.

The rig’s operator PTTEP Australasia said the clean-up would be carried out quickly after the oil and gas leak and the fire were shut down on Tuesday.

“I suspect a couple of months is what we are sort of anticipating,” the company’s Jose Martins said of the operation.

“The environmental plan really could take up to seven years.”

Australian Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, who has called for an inquiry into the incident, welcomed the news that the fire on the rig and the Montara wellhead platform had been extinguished.

“I think we are all relieved that what could have been a very dangerous situation hasn’t seen any loss of life,” the minister told public radio.

Environmentalists said stopping the flow was the first step in cleaning up the spill some 250 kilometers offshore, but called for any inquiry into the leak and fire to have wide-ranging powers.

“This is a major spill,” World Wildlife Fund Australia’s Ghislaine Llewellyn said.

“This is up in the top three in Australian history.”

Llewellyn said the spill of oil and condensate combined with the dispersant used to control the slick had created a toxic cocktail which would have a long-term impact on the area’s pristine tropical marine life.

Authorities said they were investigating whether oil from the rig could have washed up on Australia’s northern coast.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta has dismissed reports that oil from the leak had come close to Indonesian coastal waters as “highly unlikely.”

Agence France-Presse

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Burning Oil Rig May Collapse

The Jakarta Globe

The West Atlas oil rig may fall into the sea, says PTTEP Australasia. (Photo: AP, PTTEP Australasia)

Sydney. An oil rig leaking into the Timor Sea and engulfed in a massive blaze is at risk of total collapse, the rig operator acknowledged Monday, as government officials frustrated by failure to plug the leak promised an investigation.

Officials with rig operator PTTEP Australasia were planning to pump more heavy mud into a leaking well casing on Tuesday in the hopes of removing the source of fuel from the fire, which broke out on the West Atlas rig and Montara wellhead platform on Sunday.

The blaze started when workers were pouring mud into a hole that has been leaking an estimated 400 barrels of oil a day since Aug. 21. The company says it does not know what sparked the blaze.

``The fire is out of control,'' PTTEP Australasia chief financial officer Jose Martins told reporters in Perth on Monday.

A portion of the rig has already collapsed onto the wellhead platform, and there is a ``large risk'' the West Atlas rig could collapse into the sea, Martins said.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said Monday that once the spill is contained he would launch an official inquiry.

``Our requirement is to assess the cause of the accident and any lessons to be learnt, and that could lead to a change in the regulatory environment,'' he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Ferguson later told reporters in Melbourne that if PTTEP was ``found to have been at fault with respect to any of their responsibilities, then any potential action will be appropriately considered at the time.''

On Monday, the company said it was mixing 4,000 barrels of heavy mud to pour down the well on Tuesday morning.

The oil slick from the rig, about 150 miles (250 kilometers) off Australia's northwest coast, now stretches across thousands of miles (kilometers) of remote ocean. Indonesia said last week that thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near its coastline.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday he was ``deeply disturbed'' at the latest turn of events on the rig, signaling the government's rising frustration that fixing the spill is taking so long.

``Do I think this is acceptable? No, I don't,'' Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network. ``Are we angry with this company? Yes we are. Are we trying to do everything we can to get this under control? You betcha.''

AP

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Dead fish drifting in Indonesia after oil leak

The Jakarta Post

The Associated Press | Fri, 10/30/2009 6:32 PM

Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near Indonesia's coastline more than two months after an underwater well began leaking in the Timor Sea, officials and fishermen said.

Oil rig in Timor Sea catches on fire

An estimated 400 barrels a day of oil has been leaking from a fissure that erupted on Aug. 21 at a rig about 150 miles (250 kilometers) off the Australian coast. PTTEP Australasia, a branch of Thai-owned PTT Exploration and Production Co. Ltd., has failed repeatedly to stop the leak but says it is still trying.

The head of the World Wildlife Fund Australia, Gilly Llewellyn, said Friday that the early impact of the spill is beginning to become clear.

"This is shaping up to be one of the largest (spills) in Australian history," Llewellyn said in an interview. "It is one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world. The impact could be over weeks, months, years."

It is still unclear how far the spill has actually spread because much of it may be undersea, Llewellyn said.

But a slick has drifted hundreds of miles (kilometers) toward the impoverished Indonesian province of East Nusatenggara, where fishermen say they have seen thousands of dead fish drifting.

Residents in the seaside villages of Nunkolo and Bandi, located on small islands off the coast of West Timor, were suffering skin problems and acute diarrhea after eating contaminated fish, local environmental groups said.

"Fishermen have been facing serious difficulties for the past month," Ferdi Tanoni, chairman of the West Timor Care Foundation, said. "Villagers' income dropped by 80 percent because many fish died or smelled oily."

If estimates of the amount of oil leakage per day are accurate, the current size of the spill would have reached nearly 1.2 million gallons (more than 5.3 million liters).

There are fears it could harm whales, turtles and dolphins - some of them rare - living in the deep waters.

Several dead sea snakes and birds have been found in oil and are believed to have been killed by the slick, although tests have not yet determined the cause of death, Llewellyn said.

Samples taken by West Timor's Regional Environmental Agency in waters roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast found high concentrations of oil and, in one out of every four tests, dead fish.

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Vietnam Eyes Significant Orders At Dubai Seafood Show

Bernama, by Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Vietnam, which is aiming to export US$4 billion worth of seafood this year, hopes to secure significant orders at the upcoming Dubai Seafood Expo 2009.

Under the umbrella of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), a total of 11 Vietnamese seafood exporters are set to showcase their high quality products at the event.

Its Deputy General Secretary, Nguyen Hoai Nam, said players in the Vietnamese fisheries sector were taking major strides in improving product quality and ensuring continuous double shipments to demanding markets such as the Middle East, East Europe, Africa and South America.

They are also not forgetting traditional markets like China, United States, European Union, Japan, Canada and South Korea, said Nguyen ahead of the three-day seafood show beginning Oct 12 in Madinat Jumeirah here.

Vietnam, a member of Asean, which groups 10 Southeast Asian nations, is further aiming to boost its exports of various items, including frozen seafood, such as Pangasius fillet, shrimp, Cephalopus and marine fish.

In 2008, Vietnam recorded US$62.3 million in seafood exports to the Middle East, including US$28.8 million to the United Arab Emirates, according to Vasep.

Fisheries export is being positioned as the nation's fourth largest hard currency earner.

Organised by Orange Fairs & Events, the seafood show attracts participants from other Asean members like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

RI urged to put an end to illegal, unreported fishing

BeritaSore, Sen, Apr 6, 2009

In the runup to the upcoming World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia has been urged to make use of the event to ask other countries to stop illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

“The government should be able to make use of the opportunity to secure a commitment against IUU fishing,” secretary general of the People’s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), Riza Damanik, said in a press briefing in connection with the WOC here on Friday. Riza said the government had to abandon its risky diplomacy of expecting aid funds for the rehabilitation of coral reefs to fight global warming. The government, Riza said, needs to act wisely by making use of the WOC in Manado on May 11-15 2009 to demand 10 countries to stop poaching in Indonesia.

In the past 10 years foreign fishing vessels from 10 countries had been poaching in Indonesian waters. Those countries included Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea, China, Taiwan, Panama, Myanmar and Malaysia.”The crisis in our seas is related to crimes committed in the seas. Because of illegal fishing we have lost 50 percent of our marine resources,” Reza said. The chairman of the Anti-Debt Coalition, Dani Setiawan, meanwhile, said Indonesia must be able to control its territorial sea.

It means, he said, Indonesia must not use the WOC to seek loans because it is feared they would make the country to lose its control of its sea. The director general of supervision and control of marine resources and fishery, Aji Sularso, said earlier that most vessels conducted illegal fishing in the country’s waters so far came from Vietnam.

He said however that it was Thailand that had exploited most of Indonesian fishery resources. He said Thailand already had a had strong network in the country. Earlier, former Minister of Maritime Exploration sSarwono Kusumaatmadja said illegal fishing by foreigners in Indonesian waters had cost the country an estimated US$4 billion in revenue every year.

Sarwono noted that the foreigners were getting more of Indonesia’s maritime resources than Indonesians themselves, while this country itself only earned some US$2.2 billion from its fishing sector.

“It’s our water and fish, but we ourselves are losing. It’s ridiculous, he said, adding that illegal fishing activities were mostly committed by foreign poachers from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China and some other neighboring countries that had no cooperation agreement with the government of Indonesia.

In fact, the poachers often used high technology in fishing, causing difficulty to Indonesian patrol boats to detect their presence. More tragic is that the poachers have shown no fear of Indonesian patrols, who are either outnumbered or poorly armed, director general of monitoring and control at the marine and fishery ministry, Aji Sularso, said earlier.

“The illegal fishermen show no respect for our national law. The shoot-and-sink policy will be part of a show of force to deter them,” he said. Aji said illegal fishing had become out of control, as it was “threatening Indonesia’s economic and territorial sovereignty”.

Under the Indonesian fishery Law No. 31/2004 on fisheries, the ministry’s patrol guards are authorized to carry guns. But in particular, the law concerned is designed to accommodate the needs and challenges of developing the fishing industry and to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing.

The Indonesian government has been criticized for being “too lenient” in releasing and allowing Filipino fishermen to repatriate and reunite with their families. They would usually give one of two reasons, either citing humanitarian reasons or a lack of funds to provide basic needs and shelter. In addition, hundreds of confiscated foreign-flagged fishing vessels are now crowding dozens of seaports across Indonesia.

They are corroding, if not sinking and already wrecked, while waiting for legal processing, which could take years to complete. But no specific budget has been allocated for their maintenance.

Indonesia, which loses US$4 billion a year to poaching, is desperate to beef up its fishery patrol fleet, which currently consists of only 21 vessels. Securing the fishing boats could at least reduce the losses the country suffers.

Last year the government established five ad hoc fishery courts in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak, Tual island in Maluku and Bitung (North Sulawesi) in a bid to cut short the prolonged legal process against poachers, particularly those from overseas.

However, the ad hoc courts do not help achieve the goal as law enforcers are often divided over how to settle poaching cases. Maintaining this policy would risk Indonesia’s interest, not only will it send the wrong message on how Indonesia upholds the law, but it could also lead to an increase in the frequency of IUU in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, until now Indonesia has not established a special committee to deal with illegal fishing cases. The government tends to rely on a sectoral approach in handling such cases. Coordination between related government agencies is weak and would not be applied on a regular basis. A fisheries court has not been established either.

Indonesia and the Philippines have established a mechanism of Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation. The two countries have also signed an MoU on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation in General Santos, the Philippines, on Feb. 23, 2006. However, the two countries have not yet established a bilateral arrangement to table particular issues of fishermen. ( ant/ Eliswan Azly )