Uproar Over Gamsunoro Tanker Crew Being Foreign Nationals: PIS Provides Explanation

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) has reaffirmed the dominance of Indonesian seafarers in its fleet operations. This comes in the wake of a viral issue regarding a Pertamina ship reportedly employing an all-Indian crew.

As a subsidiary of PT Pertamina (Persero), PIS focuses on maritime services and logistics for third parties and the international market.

Acting Corporate Secretary of PIS, Vega Pita, explained that in serving the international market, PIS ships collaborate with charterers and ship managers. Such collaborations are common practice in the international shipping industry to enhance the company’s capabilities and capacity on the global stage.

The Gamsunoro ship is one of PIS’s vessels serving that market, particularly in Asia, Europe, America, and Africa. Currently, the ship is chartered to a third party that employs crew in accordance with international regulations and strict operational standards.

As one of Pertamina’s Sub-Holdings, PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) focuses on the maritime transport business for the international market. This strategy is implemented to drive revenue growth and serve as an engine for national foreign exchange through global market expansion.

“This is part of our strategy to strengthen the company’s competitiveness while enhancing Indonesia’s role in the global maritime industry. In its operations, Pertamina ships are in fact still dominated by Indonesian seafarers at 94%,” she stated in a written release on Monday (20/4/2026).

The Pertamina Group remains committed to domestic talent as part of efforts to develop the competencies of national seafarers on the global stage.

The number of Indonesian national crew (WNI) employed on Pertamina Group ships, both domestic and international, is at least 4,090 people. Meanwhile, foreign national seafarers number only around 278, or about 6% of the total crew on Pertamina Group ships.

Previously, a video circulated from the account @andrianumar revealing that a Pertamina-owned tanker was instead fully staffed by Indian crew.

In the video, the account owner initially contacted the MT Gamsunoro crew directly via radio connection. However, surprisingly, there was not a single Indonesian crew member on board.