Jakarta, Indonesia-The Indonesian Navy said Wednesday that it had seized an oil tanker that Cambodian authorities wanted on suspicion of stealing nearly 300,000 barrels of crude oil.
The Navy said in a statement that the Bahamian-flagged tanker MT Strovolos was detained off the Riau Islands in Indonesia in late July. The captain and 18 other crew members (composed of Bangladeshi, Indian and Burmese nationals) were also detained.
According to the Navy, after they were detained, the crew were sent to quarantine before their case was dealt with by investigators.
A Bangladeshi national tanker captain is suspected of anchoring in Indonesian territory without permission and will be punished with imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of up to Rp200 million ($ 13,900) if convicted.
The statement said the tanker had about 298,000 barrels of oil on board when it was confiscated.
In January, Indonesian authorities seized Iran-flagged and Panama-flagged ships on suspicion of illegal oil transport in Indonesian waters. They were released after four months in custody.
