Indonesian authorities caught 2 Chinese fishing vessels off the coast of Riau Islands on Wednesday, following a report of the death of an Indonesian team member aboard one of the ships.
The body of the crew member, recognized as AH, was found in the freezer of one of the ships, Lu Huang Yuan Yu117 AH is believed of having been a human trafficking victim.
Riau Islands Police chief Insp. Gen. Aris Budiman stated authorities received a report about AH from his household on June29 AH’s family stated he was working aboard Lu Huang Yuan Yu 117 and was worried that he might be dead due to the fact that he could not be gotten in touch with.
” We received the info this morning [about the location of the ship],” Aris said in a press conference at the Batam Navy Command Base on Monday. “Later, we started the pursuit of the ship with a joint force consisting of the Indonesian Navy, the Customs and Excise Directorate General, the Sea and Coast Guard, the Maritime Security Agency and the water authorities. We managed to capture the target several hours after that.”
Lu Huang Yuan Yu 117 and its sister ship Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118 were both recorded in the waters around Nipah Island.
Authorities discovered 10 Indonesians working aboard Lu Huang Yuan Yu 117, in addition to 15 Chinese nationals and 8 Filipinos.
Officials are likewise examining Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118’s involvement in the matter
Aris added that authorities were penetrating the connection in between the incident and other comparable cases including Chinese vessels.
Meanwhile, Tanjung Pinang Naval Base leader Cdre. Indarto Budiaro said there were strong suspicions that both vessels been associated with human trafficking, money laundering and physical abuse.
In May, a video appeared on Facebook showing a group of sailors on Lu Qing Yuan Yu 623 tossing the body of an Indonesian sailor into the sea. Prior to that, there was public outrage at the death of four Indonesian sailors registered to another Chinese fishing ship.
According to Devastating Fishing Watch data, 30 Indonesian crewmen were victims of alleged exploitation aboard Chinese fishing vessels between November 2019 and June, 7 of whom had actually passed away, while three others had actually gone missing. (asp)
