Pirated tugboat arrives in Belawan

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The Ocean Silver tugboat, which had six of its crew members abducted in the Strait of Malacca two miles off Idi beach in East Aceh, arrived on Thursday at Belawan port in Medan with its remaining crew.

Officials said the boat, pulling a barge with 7,000 tons of coal, was in good condition when it reached the port at 5:20 p.m. local time. The six crew members on board, Sonisam, Suwardi, E. Nabuat, Ramdani, Ramli and Jalil were immediately taken to the Navy base for questioning.

Sonisam, one of the crew members, told Navy personnel that their assailants were alleged members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"There were six armed civilians who attacked us from another vessel. They took the barge, and asked for Rp 300 million in ransom seconds before they ordered six of us to follow them," Sonisam told First Lt. Arief, the Navy spokesman at Belawan port on Thursday.

Other crew members said the men told them the money would be used to finance GAM activities.

Six crew members were then taken on board the Pukat Langkai, which was headed for Tanjung Enim, Sonisam said.

A Navy plane, the Nomad, first learned of the incident when its air crew became suspicious over the position of the Ocean Silver.

The kidnapped crew members are Anton, Suryadi, M. Taufik, Arsono, Marsono and E. Biringan, the ship's captain.

The ship, flying a Honduran flag, was chartered by Topniche Associated Pte Ltd, based in Singapore.

The ship was bound for Lumut, Malaysia. It set sail from Padang, West Sumatra, on Aug. 16.

Spokesman for the GAM military wing Sofyan Daud denied that the separatist group was behind the incident, and called it a disgraceful action.

He said that transportation through the Strait of Malacca was closely monitored by the Navy's warships and warplanes.

If GAM is behind the abduction, then ten people have been taken hostage by the rebels. Three state-television TVRI crew members were abducted by GAM members on Aug. 5 while they were on a city bus in East Aceh. Razali Usman, a legislative councillor from East Aceh, was abducted by GAM on Aug. 20.

GAM has claimed responsibility for those four abductions. Ishak Daud, the GAM spokesman for Peureulak, said the four had been questioned for alleged spying. "They will be set free soon after the questioning," he told Kompas. (42/sur)