JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s navy said Wednesday that it seized an oil tanker that was wanted by Cambodian authorities on suspicion of stealing nearly 300,000 barrels of crude oil.
The Bahamas-flagged tanker MT Strovolos was detained in waters off Indonesia’s Riau islands in late July, the navy said in a statement. The captain and 18 other crew members — made up of Bangladeshi, Indian and Myanmar nationals — were also detained.
After they were detained, the crew members were sent to quarantine before their case was processed by investigators, the navy said.
The captain of the tanker, a Bangladesh national, is suspected of anchoring in Indonesian territory without permission and faces up to one year in prison and maximum fine of 200 million rupiah ($13,900) if found guilty.
When it was seized, the tanker had about 298,000 barrels of oil on board, the statement said.
Indonesian authorities In January seized an Iranian-flagged tanker and a Panamanian-flagged tanker on suspicion of illegally transferring oil in Indonesian waters. They were released after a four-month detention.
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