UK-RI team studies quake epicenter

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.