Navy foils attempt to hijack barge containing 4,078 tons of CPO

Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - A patrol boat of the Indonesian Navy recently foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack a barge that was carrying 4,078 tons of crude palm oil (CPO) from East Kalimantan, to Surabaya, East Java.

"The Navy`s patrol boat, KRI Sutedi Senaputera-878, frustrated the action by the seven pirates on Sunday (Dec 23) in waters near Bilang-Bilangan island, off the East Kalimantan coast," Lt Col Toni Syaiful, spokesperson of the Indonesian Navy`s Eastern Fleet Command, said on Friday.

The crude palm-oil, stacked on a barge named Makmur Abadi-V which was pulled by a tugboat, the Makmur Abadi-I, was being transported from Tanjung Redep, East Kalimantan, to Surabaya, East Java. After one day`s sailing, the tugboat and barge were stopped by a seven-man group of pirates in a speed-boat led by Rebaldo.

Wielding sharp weapons, the pirates overpowered the skipper and crews of the tugboat and barge and locked them up in a cabin.

After doing a repainting job to rename the tugboat Ocean Line-1 and the barge Ocean-Line-2, the pirates steered the vessels toward Labuan, Malaysia.

The KRI Sutedi Senaputera which was patrolling waters in the Ambalat region chased and eventually intercepted the pirated vessels. The pirates were arrested and they as well the two vessels were then taken to the Tarakan naval base in East Kalimantan from where they would later be transferred to Surabaya to undergo a judicial process.