UK-RI team studies quake epicenter

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A joint British and Indonesian team is studying the seabed near the epicenter of the Dec. 26 earthquake off the western coast of northern Sumatra that triggered the deadly tsunami.

The results of the study should provide important information about the earthquake and might help assess the likelihood of future tectonic activity in the area, according to a press statement from the British Embassy in Jakarta.

British naval ship HMS Scott, carrying a crew of hydrographers, was joined on Sunday by two officers from the Indonesian Navy -- Capt. Novera and Maj. Buliwarna.

The ship, a uniquely equipped deep ocean hydrographic survey vessel, will sail to Singapore upon completion of her survey on Feb. 15.

"We are delighted to have two Indonesian naval officers aboard HMS Scott. This is an excellent opportunity for the United Kingdom and Indonesia to cooperate in the marine scientific research being conducted around the tsunami epicenter," a spokesman for the British navy said.

The British ship is not the first ship of its kind to study the waters off Aceh in the aftermath of the tsunami that killed more than 110,000 Acehnese.

The U.S. navy's USNS John McDonnell has been conducting a survey of the area near the quake's epicenter and in the Malacca Strait for signs of an altered seabed since Jan. 18. The U.S. expedition is expected to be completed in mid-February.

The U.S. Navy research has, however, sparked some suspicion in Indonesia. The chief of the National Intelligence Agency, Syamsir Siregar, raised the possibility in a hearing with the House of Representatives on Jan. 20 of the possibility of U.S. spying under cover of the scientific mission.

He said the U.S. had wanted for a long time to deploy military personnel in the strait, which is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. He also accused Australia of having the same designs.

National Geographic News reported on Jan. 12 that the USNS John McDonnell was deployed to help clean up the shipping lanes of debris. In addition, it said the ship would also try to verify reports of dangerous shoals in the Malacca Strait.

Unverified reports suggest that areas in the strait that were thousands of meters deep before the earthquake and tsunami are now as shallow as 30 meters, which is too shallow for large commercial vessels.