Firm complains of ship seizure

Firm complains of ship seizure

BATAM, Riau Islands: A shipping company complained on Wednesday
that it lost US$2,000 a day after their ships were apprehended on
Sunday for carrying 94 containers containing allegedly illegal
timber.

"If there is nothing wrong with the ship manifest, please
release the ships immediately," said Iin Wijaya, an executive
with PT Jasatama Kemasindo that contracted the ships to transport
processed timber between Pekanbaru, Riau, and Singapore.

The company was transporting timber belonging to nine
companies, including a cooperative of the Wirabima Resort
Military Command based in Pekanbaru, Riau.

However, on Sunday the two ships hired by the company were
intercepted by police on charges that the ship's manifest didn't
match with the actual amount of timber inside the containers.

Separately, chief of Riau Islands police detectives Adj. Sr.
Comr. Wawan Iriawan said the police intercepted the ships after
receiving information that the ship manifest did not match the
container contents. He said the police needed four days to check
whether the ship manifest was valid. -- JP