Noah’s ark breaks free as storm batters Dutch fishing village

DutchNews, January 3, 2018

As winds of up to 110 kph continued to batter the Netherlands on Wednesday, a replica of Noah’s ark has come adrift in the harbour of the staunchly Protestant fishing village of Urk. 

The 70 metre-long 13-metre high replica of Noah’s ark came loose from its moorings in the strong winds and caused considerable damage to several other boats. 

The ark, which contains a Bible museum, has been in the harbour for the past few months. ‘The damage is quite considerable,’ said mayor Pieter van Maaren on Twitter. 

The emergency services rescued the seven people on board and there were no injuries, broadcaster NOS said. 

A replica (🤔) of Noah’s Ark is adrift in the marina of Urk, the ultra-religious Dutch fishing village where the fishermen were recently caught smuggling cocaine. Ironic. Smashing into sailing boats left, right and centre right now during the storm. Animals still on board. pic.twitter.com/cDSVJcrBIw

— Adrie van der Luijt #FBPE (@Adrie_vdLuijt) January 3, 2018

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Lizard skins, swordfish horns and two tonnes of coral recovered in police raid

DutchNews, August 29, 2016

Picture: Dutch police. 

Police and customs officers have seized a record haul of illegal animal products, including swordfish horns, mounted crocodiles and coral. 

Altogether two tonnes of coral, as well as snake and lizard skins and ivory from protected species, were recovered from five storage units in North Brabant, together with €500,000 in cash and gold. 

A spokesman for Rotterdam police said researchers spent three days categorising the collection, which was characterised by a ‘bizarre range and diversity’. 

The trail to the illegal depot began after a routine check at Rotterdam harbour uncovered 345 kilos of coral contained in 15 packing cases on a container ship from China. 

The owner of the company where the items were stored, a 53-year-old man, is under investigation but police said no arrests have been made.

Karachi's defensive mangrove barrier faces triple threat

Yahoo – AFP, Ashraf Khan, 5 Jan 2015

A boat laden with chopped mangroves passes along an inlet close to

the Arabian Sea in Karachi (AFP Photo/Asif Hassan)

Thick mangroves have long protected Karachi, southern Pakistan's sprawling metropolis, from battering by the Arabian Sea, but pollution, badly managed irrigation and years of illegal logging have left this natural barrier in a parlous state.

Experts fear that loss of the natural barrier formed by the mangroves could put the city of nearly 20 million people at greater risk from violent storms and even tsunamis.

Talib Kacchi looks at a destroyed

 mangrove swamp along a beach on the

 Arabian Sea in Karachi (AFP Photo/

Asif Hassan)

Close to Karachi, the mighty Indus river ends its long journey from the Himalayas in the sea.

The river delta is home to the shimmering green mangrove, a delicate ecosystem that thrives in the mingled salt and fresh water.

Fisherman Talib Kacchi, 50, recalled taking shelter from monsoon storms in the mangroves as a young man.

"When there were storms, we would have tied as many as four boats together with the mangroves, and then we would sit, gossip and sing songs," he said.

But the mangrove is a shadow of its former self -- from 600,000 hectares in the early 20th century now barely 130,000 hectares remain, according to marine biologist Mohammad Moazzam Khan.

The rest has fallen victim to illegal loggers, pollution from nearby industry and changes to the river flow caused by irrigation upstream on the agricultural plains of Sindh and Punjab provinces.

The fishermen, who make a livelihood from the fish and shellfish that shelter in the mangroves, have warned about their decline for years.

But a short boat ride from Karachi's Ibrahim Haidri fish harbour finds plenty of locals cutting the mangrove and carrying it away.

A boat laden with chopped mangroves passes along an inlet close

to the Arabian Sea in Karachi (AFP Photo/Asif Hassan)

Some use foliage as fodder for cattle while others scrape a living by selling branches for fuel.

"I sell one bundle for 10 to 20 rupees (10 to 20 cents)," Haji Ibrahim, a frail old man who had just anchored his small boat at the shallow waters of the harbour told AFP.

Cutting the mangroves is illegal but the maximum punishment for cutting the mangroves is a 36,000 rupee ($360) fine, doubled for habitual offenders, and in any case, prosecutions are extremely rare.

Pollution

Karachi is Pakistan's biggest city and economic and industrial heart. The rapid growth of factories has contributed to pollution in the Indus delta.

Near a power plant to the east of the city, the mangroves are dry and withered, robbing fish of their spawning grounds and angering Kamal Shah of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum.

"I really cannot understand why you would attack the mangrove. It's stupid -- it's like emptying your neighbour's stomach to fill your own," Shah said.

"If we were in another country, the mangrove would be valued and protected."

A crow sits on a chopped mangrove in

 a mangrove swamp on a beach on the 

Arabian Sea in Karachi (AFP Photo/

Asif Hassan)

As well as dissipating the energy of tropical storms when they hit the coast, the mangrove also provides a line of defence in case of tsunamis.

The Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet at the Makran Trench, off the coast, and the boundary has the potential to create major earthquakes.

An undersea quake in 1945 generated a tsunami that hit Karachi, killing 4,000 people, and a recent UN simulation suggested the city could be wiped out if a big tremor hit again.

"It is a very important ecosystem... it is the first line of defence against cyclones, strong surges, tsunami and other natural calamities," said marine biologist Khan, who works for the WWF wildlife NGO.

But there is some hope. A drive to replant the mangroves in recent years has seen them slowly regain some of the losses.

"It (plantation) is going very well. There are very few areas in the world where the mangroves cover is increasing and Pakistan is one of them," Khan said.

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Vietnam seizes over 1,000 dead endangered sea turtles

Yahoo – AFP, 25 Nov 2014

File photo taken on January 21, 2011 shows a baby green turtle crawling to the 

sea after being hatched at a turtle sanctuary in Sukamade island in East Java

province, Indonesia

Vietnam's environmental police have seized a record haul of over 1,000 endangered sea turtles which were being prepared for illegal export to China, an official said Tuesday.

"The turtles were all dead," Le Hong Thai, an official of the Ministry of Public Security's environmental police department, told AFP.

"They were meant to be processed into handicrafts for export to China," he added.

The raids were made on Wednesday last week in the resort town of Nha Trang on Vietnam's south-central coast.

"The case is under investigation, so we cannot reveal the number of detainees or any other details," Thai said.

Marine turtles are fully protected under Vietnamese law.

Hunting and trading, including the storing, of any of the five native species is a criminal offence, according to local media reports.

Scores of Vietnamese have been arrested in regional waters over the past years for catching or trading sea turtles.

Nguyen Phuong Dung, the director of conservation group Education for Nature-Vietnam, welcomed the raid but said it must be followed with legal penalties for those involved.

Courts "need to send the message that Vietnam is serious about prosecuting and punishing" crimes involving endangered species, she said in a statement.

Environmental groups say Vietnam is one of the world's worst countries for trade in endangered species -- an accusation which it denies.

Police regularly seize hauls of ivory, rhino horn and exotic species including pangolins and tigers, but conservation groups say these represent just a small part of the trade passing through the communist country.

Indonesia makes first arrests of manta ray traders

Three traders arrested for dealing in whole manta rays and their gills, in first detentions since legal protections

theguardian.com, AFP, Wednesday 1 October 2014

Butchered manta rays in Indonesia, where a sanctuary for the species was
created in February 2014 Photograph: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace

Indonesia has detained three traders for attempting to illegally sell manta rays, the first such arrests since the world’s biggest archipelago introduced legislation protecting the huge winged fish, conservationists said.

In February, the biggest manta ray sanctuary on Earth was established in Indonesia in a bid to put a stop to the creatures being hunted for use in traditional medicine, and attract more tourists.

Manta rays are now protected within the millions of square kilometres of ocean surrounding Southeast Asia’s biggest nation, with fishing and export of the creatures banned.

US-based group the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates a wildlife crimes unit in Indonesia, said that three manta ray traders were arrested in August and September on the main island of Java.

The arrests send a “clear message that Indonesia is serious about protecting its natural heritage against illegal wildlife traders,” Joe Walston, the society’s vice president for field conservation said in a statement released this week.

Indonesia’s Marine Affairs Minister Sharif C. Sutardjo hailed the arrests, and was cited as saying: “Illegal trading of protected species threatens the sustainability of marine and fisheries resources in Indonesia.”

Officials holding sezied manta ray gills in Indonesia Photograph: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace

The first arrest on 22 August involved a trader in Surabaya city in the east of Java attempting to sell a shipment that included manta ray gills, which are sought after in China for their use in traditional medicine.

A second trader was arrested in Sidoarjo, near Surabaya, on 1 September, while the third was detained on 26 September in Indramayu in west Java, attempting to sell an entire manta ray.

Trafficking manta rays, whose numbers in Indonesia have fallen sharply in recent years, is punishable by a maximum fine of $25,000, the conservation group said.

The rays have wingspans up to 25 feet (7.5 metres), which they flap to propel themselves through the water, and are a favourite sight for foreign tourists, many of whom come to Indonesia to dive.

Protection group the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies both species of manta ray - the oceanic and reef varieties - as vulnerable.

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Earth lost 50% of its wildlife in the past 40 years, says WWF

Canadian nabbed with 51 turtles in his pants

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Sep 2014

In a picture taken on June 20, 2012, red-eared slider turtles are seen at an enclosure

at the Manila Zoo. Red-eared sliders were one of the varieties of turtles found in the

pants of a man arrested for smuggling at the US-Canada border (AFP Photo/Noel Celis)

Ottawa (AFP) - A Canadian has been caught at the US-Canada border with 51 live turtles stuffed in his pants in what American authorities claimed was an elaborate reptile smuggling operation.

The scheme was uncovered last month but was only revealed this week in US federal court documents cited in a Friday report by the Toronto Globe and Mail.

According to the newspaper, Canadian border officials arrested Kai Xu as he tried to cross into Windsor, Ontario from Detroit, Michigan in August, and handed him over to US authorities.

"Xu was found to have 51 live turtles taped to his person," a US Fish and Wildlife Service said in an affidavit cited by the Globe and Mail.

The seized turtles were North American varieties including eastern box turtles, red-eared sliders and diamondback terrapins that sell for as much as $800.

A second Canadian, Lihua Lin, was arrested on Wednesday at the Detroit airport, bound for Shanghai with more than 200 North American pond turtles in his checked luggage. He had been dropped off at the airport by Xu.

Xu and Lin have been charged with smuggling and other related offenses, and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

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Illegal waste dumping destroys Taoyuan's algal reefs

Want China Times, Huang Yi-ying and Staff Reporter 2014-01-25

A dead pig in a river near the Guanyin Industrial Park. The industrial waste
 dumped in the river is reportedly so toxic that even the bacteria that would
normally cause a dead animal to decompose cannot survive. (Photo/Chen Hsin-han)

Illegal dumping of industrial waste over the past three decades since the Guanyin Industrial Park was inaugurated in 1983 has severely affected the ecosytem of algal reefs in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan, where local rivers have turned black due to pollution.

The body of a pig that drowned in one of the rivers saw no signs of decomposition for a week, as bacteria that would normally break down the remains have been killed by the pollution, our sister paper China Times reported.

Pan Chung-cheng, the director of an environmental protection organization in Taoyuan, said the industrial park was cursed as soon as it started polluting. "For 30 years, the factories have not stopped discharging liquid industrial waste into rivers since 1983. All the rivers are black and nothing can survive in there," he said.

Taiwan counts less than 50 kilometers of algal reef along its 1,500 kilometers of coastline. Taoyuan county accounts for just over half of this, but the majority has been destroyed by pollution. Though the government belatedly became aware of the importance of the ecosystem two years ago, work to turn the situation around has been launched too late and no matter how much factories are fined, the algal reefs are dying out.

Furthermore, factories are still illegally dumping waste. "The government has long been corrupted by local companies and the people here have lost hope of fighting both the government and the factories," said Pan.

The Guanyin Industrial Park has 333 legal companies on 632 hectares of land as well as numerous others which have settled there illegally. But all of the companies, legal and illegal, pollute the country in similar ways.

Yeh Si-kuei, an environmental activist who often takes part in raids to catch illegal dumping, said local mafia often protect the perpetrators of illegal waste dumping.

Yeh said the rivers they are trying to protect used to be full of fish. But now the rivers are black, and nothing can live in them.

Over 8,000 Pig-Nosed Turtles Rescued in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe – AFP, January 10, 2014

Pig-nosed turtles are seen during a press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta
airport quarantine station in Jakarta on April 1, 2013. (EPA Photo)

Indonesian officials said Friday they have rescued more than 8,000 baby pig-nosed turtles hidden in suitcases and thought to be destined for China and Singapore.

A total of 2,968 were discovered in four suitcases at the airport serving the capital Jakarta after arriving from the remote eastern Papua region, said Zaenal Abidi, quarantine official.

“The suitcases were full of plastic boxes holding 15 to 20 turtles each. Sadly, 14 of them were dead on arrival,” he said.

Airport officials were asked Thursday to be on the look-out for pig-nosed turtles — classified as vulnerable — after 5,400 of the creatures were discovered in seven suitcases in Papua, he said.

Abidi said that pig-nosed turtles smuggled through Jakarta are usually sent to Singapore or China, where they are sold as exotic pets and sometimes end up in food markets.

All the turtles would be returned to their natural habitat in Papua, Abidi said.

He added that police knew who had checked in the luggage but their whereabouts were now unknown.

The pig-nosed turtle is only found in Australia and New Guinea, an island shared between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and is protected under Indonesian conservation laws.

It has a distinctive snout-like nose and webbed feet.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the pig-nosed turtle as vulnerable and trade of the species is restricted.

Agence France-Presse

Costa Rica poachers 'kill turtle activist'

BBC News, 1 June 2013

Sea turtles have seen their numbers decline partly because of poaching

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An environmentalist campaigning for the protection of endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica has been found dead in a suspected killing by smugglers.

Jairo Mora was reportedly found face down with his hands tied on Moin beach, 170km (105 miles) east of the capital, San Jose.

Vanessa Lizano, the owner of the turtle sanctuary where Mr Mora worked, said he had been killed because of his work.

Sea-turtle eggs are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.

Ms Lizano told the BBC: "Jairo went on patrol with some volunteers and they were attacked by armed men.

"It was him they wanted, because he was the one who was always looking after the nests."

Ms Lizano said that poachers in Costa Rica can make up to $300 (£200) per day smuggling turtle eggs in the black market.

She said they had received many threats over the years because of their work at the sanctuary.

Sea turtle eggs are considered a
delicacy in some parts of the world

Populations 'in decline'

Didihier Chacon, a spokesperson for the Widecast, a partner organisation which runs sea turtle conservation programmes in Central America, said he felt "very hurt" by Mr Mora's death.

"He could walk 20km each night to save nests," Mr Chacon told Efe news agency.

"It's not possible that citizens who protect nature have to suffer from this type of attacks."

The Costa Rican authorities said they were investigating the death.

According to Widecast's website, Central America once supported populations of sea turtles in their thousands, but they have been in decline, partly because of widespread poaching for their meat, eggs and shells.

In addition to national legislation in Costa Rica, sea turtles are protected under many international treaties.

Boat with illegal migrants sinks off Indonesia, 300 missing

Reuters, Jakarta, Sat Dec 17, 2011

(Reuters) - A boat carrying illegal immigrants heading for Australia sank off the coast of east Java in Indonesia and over 300 people were missing with many feared dead, a senior emergency official said.

Only 76 people of 380 people on board had been rescued, said Sahrul Arifin, the head of emergency and logistics at the East Java Disaster Mitigation Center.

He said strong waves wrecked the wooden boat about 90 km (56 miles) out to sea late Saturday night. "Our search and rescue team have begun sweeping the water around where the accident took place but we are now sending body bags to that area," Arifin said.

He said the passengers were mainly believed to be illegal migrants from countries including Iran and Afghanistan. Many boat people from the Middle East and Asia use Indonesia as a transit point en route to Australia.

Local TV showed images of more than a dozen shocked-looking survivors huddled in a clinic in Trenggalek, a town on Java island's southern coast.

Many economic migrants from the Middle East attempt to cross the Indian Ocean in boats in search of a better life in Australia.

Australia-based refugee advocate Jack Smit told Reuters first reports indicated the boat was overloaded. He suggested it might involve a new and inexperienced people-smuggling operator trying to make money quickly, as the boat reportedly left from the same port in Java as another that sank recently.

"It all points to new operators, and also the population of the boats is changing," Smit, of Project SafeCom Inc, told Reuters. "It seems to me it's a new operator that took a risk that was too big."

Smit said there appeared to be an increasing number of Iranians taking to the boats and fewer Afghans than previously. He estimated that 2 to 5 percent of thousands of asylum-seekers taking to boats in this way each year died en route, with many deaths not reported.

Asylum-seekers often pay thousands of dollars to board the boats, whose journeys are organized by people-smuggling networks based in Indonesia using ramshackle vessels often poorly equipped for the perilous journey to Australian waters. This sinking is the latest of several such disasters in recent years.

(Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu, Additional reporting by Chris McCall in Sydney; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Seized Vessel Shines Light on Illegal Fishing

Jakarta Globe, October 09, 2011

Juneau, Alaska. The recent seizure of a stateless ship in international waters 4,200 kilometers off Alaska's coast has spotlighted the challenge that the United States and other nations face in trying to crack down on illegal fishing, an activity that accounts for up to $23.5 billion a year in global economic losses.  

Finding rogue vessels in the vast, open ocean can be like finding a needle in a haystack. But US officials and some environmentalists say progress is being made, including multinational patrol and enforcement agreements and the potential for sanctions against countries that engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated (or IUU) fishing.  

More countries are joining the efforts and there is greater awareness of the illegal fishing issue in the US and Europe, where patrons ask restaurants and shops for the source of their product.  

There are efforts to better track high-value products like bluefin tuna to ensure they were obtained legally, and to keep illegal product out, said Rebecca Lent, director of the Office of International Affairs for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.  

Such efforts are important because "we can't be out there all the time, watching the boats," she said.  

"I think there's been progress [but] we have to continue; you can't let your guard down," Lent said. "It's like any place where you might have crime or illegal activity. You just have to stay vigilant, if you will."  

The seizure of the Bangun Perkasa was the first of a suspected illegal fishing vessel by the US Coast Guard since 2008.  

The ship was spotted by a Japanese aircraft on Aug. 31 and seized by the Coast Guard on Sept. 7, under an agreement that includes annual patrols of international waters of the Pacific to look for illegal drift-netting. High-seas drift nets are often referred to as "the wall of death" because they capture myriad species the pirates don't intend to use. The United Nations has banned drift netting.  

The drift net on the Bangun Perkasa was about 16 kilometers long and crew members cut it in an attempt to flee, said Capt. Craig Lloyd, chief of response for the Coast Guard in Alaska. Authorities were able to stop the vessel but a second ship in the area got away, he said.  

The Coast Guard reported that 30 tons of squid and about 30 shark carcasses were onboard the rat-infested ship. The vessel arrived near Dutch Harbor in southwest Alaska last weekend after a laborious escort that included two Coast Guard cutters.  

NOAA Fisheries must decide what to do with the ship and catch once the rats are eradicated and the boat is in good enough shape to be brought closer to shore. Alaska law forbids ships with rats from entering state waters.  

The Coast Guard said the crew initially claimed the vessel was from Indonesia but Indonesian officials did not claim it. In the case of a stateless vessel, the US can impose its own law, Lloyd said.  

The 22 crew members are from China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Indonesia, the Coast Guard said. Authorities investigating the case are expected to forward their findings to the US attorney's office.  

Lloyd called the seizure a big win for the international community and for law-abiding fishermen. Still, statistics are elusive as to whether enforcement actions are having a significant impact on the problem.  

The US Commerce Department in a report to Congress this year said that since IUU fishing activities are generally carried out covertly monitoring and detection are difficult.  

Estimates suggest global economic losses due to illegal fishing could be as high as $23.5 billion a year, with the problem a particular concern in the waters off developing countries. John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for the environmental group Greenpeace USA, said losses to sub-Sahara Africa alone are estimated at over $1 billion annually.  

The toll taken by pirate fishing can't be overstated, he said: Fisheries are being depleted, many countries lack the resources to monitor and enforce illegal fishing in their waters, and large ships and powerful gear allow pirates to go farther out on the high seas, meaning, "fish literally have no place to hide."  

He cited a concern with sharks, often targeted because they're prized for shark-fin soup. Sharks have low reproductive rates, he said, leaving them vulnerable if their numbers steeply decline.   

Lent said her agency plans to propose expanding the definition of IUU fishing to include protections for sharks.  

Earlier this year, the Commerce Department reported that it had identified six countries as having engaged in IUU fishing in 2009 or 2010: Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Panama, Portugal and Venezuela. Twelve other countries were considered but either the allegations were refuted or the nations involved said they'd acted to address the concern.  

Italy, Panama and four other countries — France, Libya, China and Tunisia — were identified in a 2009 report to Congress. But in each case of verified violations, the countries took action against the vessels or persons involved and showed proof of their own efforts, according to the Commerce Department. 

Countries that do not comply run the risk of sanctions including a block on imports.   Hocevar said the federal government now has strong tools to hold other countries accountable if they're supporting illegal fishing. And he thinks NOAA is doing a good job in addressing the problem.  

New technology to monitor vessels and attention to the issue by the United Nations helps, too.  

"But the fact is, we still have a multibillion-dollar problem on our hands," he said, "and we still have a long way to go."  

Associated Press  

Alaskans smuggled walrus tusks and polar bear hides

BBC News, 16 July 2011

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Two Alaskans have pleaded guilty to illegally trading the tusks of about 100 walruses with Eskimo hunters.

Indigenous Alaskans are allowed to hunt
walruses for food

The pair were arrested in April with the ivory tusks, along with two polar bear hides.

They had swapped the animal parts with the hunters in exchange for money, guns, cigarettes and at least one snowmobile.

Indigenous Alaskans are allowed to hunt walruses but they are not permitted to sell the tusks.

The state prosecutor declined to comment on whether the hunters would also be charged, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Prosecutors say this is Alaska's biggest wildlife trafficking case for nearly two decades.

A third defendant is expected to plead guilty to similar charges next week.

The three had obtained about 500 pounds (227kg) of walrus tusks from Yup'ik Eskimo hunters in the village of Savoonga, court documents say.

The pair pleaded guilty under a plea bargain and prosecutors have asked for prison terms of at least five years.

Two of the defendants asked for permission to get married before they are sentenced in November.

They fear that if they are not married, they will not be able to send letters to each other in separate prisons.

The judge said he would try to accommodate their request.

Illegal trade

The Jakarta Post, Nyoman Budhiana, Antara, Bali | Mon, 01/10/2011

Police and Bali Natural Resources and Conservation Center officers measure green sea turtles at the Bali water police patrol office in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday. The team foiled an illegal attempt to trade the 38 sea turtles from Madura to Bali.

Navy arrests boat selling illegal diesel oil

Antara News, Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - Tanjungpinang navy patrol in Riau Islands intercepted and arrested an illegal diesel oil boat and its crew of four when selling its cargo in Anak Lobam waters, Bintan regency.

"We also seized the boat and 40 tons of illegal diesel oil which was about to be sold at sea," commander of Tanjungpinang naval patrol Major Hariyo Poernomo said here on Monday.

Hariyo said the nameless vessel with four crewmen, namely Rusli, Nur Khatib, Lahode and M Nur, was arrested by the navy patrol boat in Anak Lobam waters on Tuesday (Dec 21) at 2 am when sailing from Buluh Island in Batam.

"They were about to sell the illegal diesel oil to tug boats passing the area," Hariyo said.

It appeared that the diesel came from boats selling the illegal oil and received by Alimin who told the four suspects to resell it.

Hariyo said a thorough investigation showed that the diesel oil as well as the boat did not have any papers.

"They have violated the law on navigation and the law on oil and gas," he added.

He added that the sale of illegal diesel oil at sea had frequently happened and the capacity of the boat is normally 100 tons.

The skipper of the boat carrying the illegal diesel oil, M Nur (58), said Alimin simply told them to bring the oil to the Tekulai waters from Buluh Batam island.

"We have no idea where the oil came from and we were told to only take the boat to Tekulai before to other boats came," he said. Nur said Alimin paid him for bringing the boat with 40 tons of diesel oil on board, but refused to say how much exactly was the payment.

The boat with the four frewmen is now held at the naval patrol basis in Tanjung Unggat, Tanjungpinang.

Customs seizes illegal explosives from Malaysia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/21/2010

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise confiscated 50 tons of ammonium nitrate, a raw material used to produce explosives, from a boat sailing from Malaysia.

Directorate General of Customs and Excise spokesperson Evi Suhartantyo said they stopped the ship flying an Indonesia flag, the KM Salbiana Jaya, in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

The ship, which had a crew of 14, was loaded with 2,000 sacks or 50 tons of explosive ammonium nitrate, and was traveling from Malaysia to Sulawesi.

“The ship has been towed to the Tanjung Balai Karimun office for further investigation. This is a loss for our defense sector as well as for our environment” Evi said, adding that the smuggling attempt would cost the state Rp 2 billion (US$222,000).

Foreign Ministry probing reported arrest of RI sailors in M`sia

Antara News, Monday, October 18, 2010 19:31 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry is still investigating the reported arrest of 13 Indonesian sailors by Malaysian authorities recently.

The report was first released by Bernama News Agency last Oct 17. According to the report, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained four foreign vessels for illegally transferring 125,752 liters of oil in Pangerang waters near Kota Tinggi last Oct 16. It was said there were 13 Indonesian sailors in the vessels.

"We are still collecting information on whether there were Indonesians among the arrested sailors or not. One thing I can say is that the government will always give legal support to Indonesian citizens abroad," said a foreign ministry spokesman here on Monday.

Bernama News Agency quoted MMEA southern region operations director Captain Mohd Zubil Mat Som as saying that there were 52 crew inside the four vessels comprising 15 from Thailand, 13 from Indonesia, 12 from the Philippines, eight from Myanmar and four from Holland. The crew members were aged between 20 to 59 years.

Mohd Zubil said the four vessels were spotted by a MMEA patrolling team on KM Manjong at two locations about 1.8 nautical miles off Tanjung Ayam, Pangerang, between 10 am and 5.30 pm on Sunday, during an operation dubbed `Ops Perkasa Selatan`.

"Following inspections, we found that the four vessels were conducting illegal oil transfer, which is an offense under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and Federation Light Dues Act 1953," he said.

He added that the vessels were registered in Kiribati, Bangkok, Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Rotterdam.

Dumai customs seize Malaysian ship carrying illegal goods

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 15:48 WIB

Dumai, Riau province (ANTARA News) - Dumai customs officers have seized a Malaysian ship, KM Rfaida Indah carrying hundreds of sacks of used tires and clothing, an officer said here on Thursday.

The ship was caught on Wednesday (Sept 29) afternoon in the Sungai Kemeli area, Dumai.

"After being checked, the ship proved to contain second-hand tires and clothing products from Malaysia," said the officer adding that the ship was impounded after the captain failed to show official documents related to the products he carried in the ship.

"We took the ship to Pokala harbor for further further legal processing," he said.

Blast fishing troubles C Sulawesi`s fishermen

Antara News, Sunday, May 30, 2010 18:10 WIB

Mamuju, W Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The blast fishing activities in the waters of West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi, had caused shortages of fish, a fisherman said.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen, including himself, could no longer get fish easily, Rusdi, the fisherman, said here Saturday.

Rusdi said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.

Fishing net fishermen need to go further into the sea to catch fish, he said.

Sharing Rusdi`s deep concern, Isram said fishing net fishermen like himself had actually already warned fishermen using explosives in catching fish.

But they ignored the warnings athough they realized the bad impacts of fishing with explosives on the sustainability of coral reefs and fish resources, which finally caused other fishermen to suffer, he said.

Due to the danger of blast fishing, he called on the police to take stern action the perpetrators.

"If the blast fishing practitioners are left free, I am afraid the impacts will become worse," he said.

The blast fishing activities in various parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi Province, have attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.

The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.

Malaysia-Bound Timber Seized in Malacca Strait

Tempo Interactive, Thursday, 29 April, 2010 | 19:00 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Patrol unit of the provincial customs office in Sumatra sezied about 2,500 logs of timber in the Malacca Strait from a vessel heading to Malaysia early on Thursday (29/4).

A message sent by the Public Communication Chief of the Customs and Excise Directorate in Jakarta Evi Suhartantyo the patrol unit of Tanjung Balai Karimun customs office, North Sumatra, intercepted a nameless and flagless vessel at about 2 am today in Tanjung Sempayan.

The vessel was captained by a Riau resident and was traveling from Batu Pahat, Malaysia. Evi suspected the logs were cut down illegally in Riau Province, no report on the type of the timber.

NALIA RIFIKA

37 illegal immigrants captured in Jakarta Bay

Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 04/06/2010 4:25 PM

Thirty-seven male Afghan nationals were captured by patrolling officers from Jakarta Police's water police division in waters off Bidadari Island in Jakarta Bay early Tuesday and admitted they were heading to Australia to look for political asylum.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said the officers found the illegal immigrants floating in two fishing boats crewed by two Indonesian nationals identified as Ending and Ardun.

"We are still questioning them to find out how they entered Indonesian waters and which route they used," Boy said, adding that the illegal immigrants now came under the division’s jurisdiction.

Boy said the police were now coordinating with UNHCR representatives in Jakarta to decide the future of the asylum seekers.

"But it is almost certain they will be deported from Indonesia," he said.