Oil spill covers waters in Jakarta Bay
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While residents of islets in Kepulauan Seribu waters worked to clear dead fish from beaches and remove oil coating the sand on Thursday, the source of a huge oil spill earlier in the week remains unclear.
Some people used simple tools, others their bare hands, but while no major clean-up effort has been undertaken at sea, the spill appeared to have broken up. Around Pramuka and Panggang islets, an oil slick with a radius of 50 meters was observed.
The spill was first spotted around Pramuka islet on Tuesday morning.
Head of the Kepulauan Seribu National Park Sumarto, said park rangers had seen "eight dolphins swimming frantically, like they were being chased by something".
"Behind the dolphins, we saw a long, black oil slick. Within hours, the oil spill was around two kilometers long. And, in places, the oil was five centimeters thick," he said.
The Jakarta administration hinted on Thursday that one of several offshore rigs in Kepulauan Seribu waters could be the source of the oil spill, which has affected most of the resort islands there.
"On Monday, we discovered pools of oil around Karya, Panggang, Pramuka and Pari islets. The oil was apparently brought by the northwest current from where the China National Offshore Oil Corp's (CNOOC) rigs are situated," Kepulauan Seribu Regent Abdul Kadir said at City Hall.
"But, to the west of CNOOC's rigs, near Sumatra, there is another oil rig. So, we don't know for sure whether to blame CNOOC or the other company," he added.
He said oil spills occurred at least twice a year in the regency.
The regent claimed his office had once asked CNOOC to replace its leaking underwater pipes.
However, he said, the administration had no authority to impose sanctions on oil companies responsible for pollution, since the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources had the authority to do so.
Meanwhile, Amir Hamzah, the spokesperson for the Oil and Gas Implementing Body (BP Migas), told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that he could not comment on the matter.
"I did not hear about the pollution straight away as I am in Surabaya," he said.
Contacted separately on Thursday, head of the environmental crimes division of the Jakarta Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Ahmad Haydar said he just heard about the oil spill and would send a team to investigate it.
The police have been investigating another oil spill in the regency in March for almost eight months. The police have questioned several officials of CNOOC as witnesses, but none have been named suspects.