Pulp freighter sinks off Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: An accident between an incoming barge and a freighter moored at a Perawang shipping dock, Riau province, forced dock crew to hustle around the clock to save a Rp 6.3 billion (US$ 663,158) shipment of pulp.

The barge, fully loaded with wood chips from Bengkalis, slammed into the 700-ton MV Tanto Prima, owned by PT Indah Kiat Paper and Pulp (IKPP), at 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, ripping a hole in its hull.

PT IKPP Perawang spokesperson Nurul Huda said on Thursday that the accident at the company's new dock had workers busy with pumps late into the day trying to keep water out of the hold so that as much of the 2,300 tons of pulp as possible could be salvaged.

"Forklifts are busy loading the pulp onto trucks. Some of the pulp is scattered on the new dock and some has been swept away in the Siak River. Cranes are also being used to salvage the pulp from the vessel because water is gradually filling up the hold of the vessel," said Nurul.

The MV Tanto Prima, which was struck on the right side of the bow, was listing badly with its stern in the air and its bow partially submerged as salvage workers attempted to weld the hole shut to keep the freighter from sinking completely.

The freighter had been scheduled to leave for Surabaya on Thursday to deliver the cargo of pulp.

The company has yet to determine the actual losses incurred by the accident. But with the current price of pulp at around US$300 per ton, the losses could reach up to $690,000 or about Rp 6.3 billion. -- JP