On October 16th, the Indonesian navy detained a Singapore-flagged container and its crew of 12, supposedly for smuggling used television sets, refrigerators and other household items from the city-state. The ship named ‘The LCT Emperor’ was apparently stopped in Tanjung Pinggir waters just off Batam in the Riau Islands province.
Tanjung Pinang-based naval commander S. Irawan said, “Navy officers on board a patrol craft spotted several smaller boats approaching the Emperor. The crew of the Emperor was observed to have been unloading goods onto the smaller boats in open sea before it sailed towards the Sekupang logistic seaport in Batam.” He further added, “We have detained the crew because they brought in used goods without permits. We have since notified Singapore about this arrest and are now investigating the crew.”
The Vessel departed from the Jurong Port in Singapore on Saturday, and preliminary investigations exhibited that the vessel did not have the required traveling documents and its captain also did not possess a valid piloting license.
All the goods carried by the vessel have been seized by the officials during the arrest. Further investigations are underway.
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Source: The Straits Times
