990 tons of oil being removed from sunken ship off Batam

Fadli, Batam

A major salvage operation is underway to remove some 990 tons of fuel oil from a ship carrying 4,000 cars that sank after colliding with a tanker last week in Indonesian waters south of Singapore, officials said on Friday.

Hasan Liurima, chief of the Tanjung Uban Sea and Coast Guard Unit (KPLP), said four ships with divers were sent to survey the scene.

"We are conducting a survey to locate the fuel oil tank of the MV Hyundai and determine its capacity," he told The Jakarta Post in Batam, Riau province. The 990 tons of fuel was to be used for the ship's journey to England and Germany.

He said his office had asked the ship's owner to help the salvage operation.

However, the deep water and strong currents were hindering their work, Tri Yuswoyo, coordinator of the operation, was quoted by AP as saying.

He said heavy rains and choppy seas might hamper diving operations at the site, and warned that there was an urgent need to remove the fuel oil due to fears the tanks might crack under the sea's high pressure.

The vessel, carrying about 3,000 new Hyundai and Kia cars and 1,000 used Japanese vehicles, sank on Sunday after a head-on collision with oil tanker MT Kaminesan in a busy shipping lane about five miles from the Batu Ampar seaport, Batam. Both vessels were registered in Panama.

The MT Kaminesan -- loaded with almost 280,000 tons of crude oil -- had been towed to Singapore and anchored at the country's seaport.

Hasan admitted that the four surveying ships were not adequately equipped to carry out this job and the owner of MV Hyundai therefore sent another four ships with equipment to limit the spread of an oil slick in the ocean should there be any leakage.

The lane, where the ill-fated MV Hyundai is now located, was closed to other vessels, he said, adding that a patrol boat was sent there to guard the area.

"The wrecked ship should be removed and the owner should be responsible for it, as it is located in a busy sea lane," said Hasan.

Separately, Batam Major Nyat Kadir said he was still waiting for the report on the impact of the shipping accident.

So far, no complaints have been received from fishermen operating near to the location of the crash, he added,

"We are still waiting for a report from the working team to find out whether any environmental damage has taken place," said the mayor.

The MV Hyundai's crew of eight Koreans and 12 Filipinos abandoned ship about 15 minutes before it sank between Batam and Singapore with a cargo valued at US$40 million.

The collision tore a 50-meter-by-20-meter hole in its side.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Officials said the weather was fine at the time and the ships communicated with each other before the crash.