Log-filled police boat impounded

Fadli, Karimun

The Navy impounded a boat belonging to the Riau Police Cooperative and carrying more than 1,000 cubic meters of logs in Karimun regency, Riau province.

The head of the Tanjung Balai Karimun Naval Base, Lt. Col. Bambang Wahyudi, said on Tuesday the Ruby-3 was stopped on Saturday night shortly after leaving Mindo island in Karimun regency for Jambi province.

Bambang said the Navy personnel impounded the boat and detained its crew after it was determined that the logs were being transported without the necessary documents.

The crew did have a license from the Riau Forestry Office to transport the logs, but the license had already expired, placing them in violation of forestry regulations.

"The boat was only authorized to transport the logs on June 23 at the latest," Bambang said.

He said the Navy was detaining the captain of the Ruby-3, Nasir, and nine crew members at the Tanjung Karimun Naval Base.

"We have reported the matter to the chief of the Navy's Western Fleet. We will proceed with the case, disregarding the fact that the boat is owned by the police cooperative," said Bambang.

He said the Navy personnel were obeying an order from the Navy chief to assist civilian law enforcers in combating smugglers, illegal loggers and pirates operating in Indonesian waters.

The police boat was carrying various types of logs, including from the meranti, balam, sintai and punak trees. There was a total of 1,053.81 cubic meters of logs on the boat.

Had the boat not been stopped, the state would have suffered losses amounting to Rp 1.3 billion (US$136,842), Bambang said.

He said Navy investigators were writing up the case files on the incident and would hand them over to investigators at the Tanjung Balai Karimun Forestry Office for further investigation.

According to data from the Tanjung Balai Karimun Naval Base, since April of this year it has impounded 30 boats and ships in the waters in its jurisdiction. All of the vessels were being used for smuggling, illegal logging or piracy.

A spokesman for the Riau Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. S. Pandiangan, said he had heard nothing about the matter.

"Actually, our cooperative should have nothing to do with the logging business. But I'll check the report first," Pandiangan told The Jakarta Post.