REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Argentinian government has consented to Indonesia's participation in investigating a Chinese fishing vessel Hua Li-8, caught in the Indonesian waters recently and wanted in Argentina, stated Indonesia's Illegal Fishing Eradication Task Force Satgas 115.
"(Argentina) has granted authority to the Indonesian government to not only hold but also investigate," Satgas 115 expert chief staff Mas Achmad Sntoso noted in a press release issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources received here on Wednesday.
Achmad expressed hope that the investigation conducted by the Indonesian and Argentinian investigators would run smoothly.
He said the Argentinian investigators were expected to arrive this week to work together with the Indonesian authorities.
Achmad revealed that the Norwegian Interpol will also participate in processing the evidence.
"The Norwegian Interpol will also lend assistance in handling the evidence to expose the true intentions of the ship," he remarked.
On April 22, the Indonesian naval ships KRI Viper-820 and KRI Pati Unus-384 had seized FV Hua Li-8, which was wanted by the Argentine Interpol.
Naval spokesman Commodore Edi Sucipto noted that on April 22, the navy had caught the Chinese vessel after receiving information on the presence of the ship in Indonesian waters.
"After receiving the information, the navy then sent KRI Viper-820 and KRI Pati Unus-384 to chase it," he explained.
The FV Hua Li-8 vessel was last located some 29 nautical miles from Lhokseumawe, Aceh, in Sumatra.
FV Hua Li-8 had conducted illegal fishing in the Argentinian waters on February 29 in addition to carrying out illegal trade and slavery during its journey.
Lt Col Ariris Miftachurrahman, head of the Western Fleet Command information service, stated that the operation to seize the Chinese ship was part of the international cooperation to eradicate illegal fishing.
The operation to apprehend the Chinese ship also involved a Casa U-618 aircraft sent from its base in Tanjungpinang.
"The foreign ship was caught by KRI Viper at 2:53 p.m. local time," he revealed.
The 1,275-gross-ton Chinese vessel, measuring 65.02 meters in length, was seized following a chase that involved warning shots and inspection.
All the crew members of the Chinese ship, except the skipper and engineer, were moved aboard KRI Viper, while the ship was escorted to the naval base in Belawan, Sumatra, some 115 nautical miles away.
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Susi Pudjiastuti had earlier emphasized that no country will be given preferential treatment with regard to illegal fishing ships being caught in the Indonesian waters.
"Even if a US-flagged ship is caught fishing illegally in the country's waters, we will also sink it," Pudjiastuti noted at her office on April 5.
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