A tanker carrying oil from Venezuela ran aground in Indonesian waters near the Singapore Strait, Indonesian authorities said this Saturday, as operations are underway to free the tanker.
The Cameroonian-flagged MT Liberty, carrying a cargo of 139,000 tons of oil, ran aground near Pasir Panjang, in the Riau Islands region, reported the commander of the region’s naval base, Anro Casanova.
According to satellite ship tracking portal TankerTrackers.com, the ship was carrying oil from Venezuela, a country that was subject to sanctions due to the brutal crackdown on protests in 2015. US sanctions were recently eased.
Efforts to free the ship continue Saturday, and the Indonesian navy mobilized six tugboats to take advantage of the high tide, Casanova said.
According to the first information, the ship ran aground when it was weighing anchor to head towards the PT dock. Oiltanking Karimun, petroleum products storage company.
As a precaution, “oil booms were installed around the ship to prevent the oil from spreading to the surrounding waters,” Casanova said in a statement.
This is a new incident involving a ship classified as “ghost”, which operates outside the official maritime sector, an issue described this week as “of great concern” by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
US sanctions on oil exports from Venezuela, Iran and Russia have encouraged the operation of a large fleet of ships without standard safety certifications, insurance and companies with transparent structures.
The growth of the clandestine fleet of oil tankers, used by countries under sanctions, raises fears of accidents that could cause, in particular, oil leaks.
Source: TSF
