Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti approved the judge’s decision against the captain of the fugitive Interpol FV STS-50 who was convicted at the Sabang District Court, Aceh, Thursday (02/08/2018).

Referring to Article 97 Paragraph (1) of the Fisheries Law, the Sabang District Court Panel of Judges determines the captain of the FV STS-50 ship Matveev Aleksandr is sentenced to a fine of Rp 200 million for a subsidiary of 4 months in prison. The judge also confiscated a number of items of evidence, including the FV STS-50 vessel along with equipment such as GPS, steering, communication and navigation equipment, and fishing gear.

Susi asserted, this decision is a proof of the victory of the state against illegal fishing, as well as in building cooperation between agencies. Susi also greatly appreciated the hard work of law enforcement officials in Sabang, including the ranks of Sabang LANAL, Sabang District Attorney, and Sabang District Court, for their hard work and integrity while handling the case.

“You have become the last spearhead of law enforcement that finally could confiscate STS-50 ships for the benefit of the country, and of course the team of KRI Simeuleu 2 crew who had courageously stopped, inspected and carried the STS-50 ship to the door of investigation, to the prosecution door. And the panel of judges who have decided this item was confiscated by the state, “Susi said in a press statement received by SINDOnews, Sunday (05/08/2018).

According to Susi, what has happened and the judge’s decision, is proof that Indonesia must cooperate across countries in solving illegal fishing problems. Illegal fishing is not just a theft of fish, but more than that they also ignore sovereignty over natural resources from various countries. “Also in the conservation area in our Antarctic sea, which is also needed by the world,” said Susi.

Because of this, Susi considered that the Sabang District Court Assembly’s decision was the right step to show that law enforcement in Indonesia was going well. “This decision also proves that Indonesia is a country that has high integrity, from the side of the apparatus and the law enforcement side. That proves that we cannot be carried around playing games. Law enforcement in Indonesia is very good, ” he said.

Meanwhile, Acting Director General of Maritime and Fishery Resources Supervision, who is also the Secretary General of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Nilanto Perbowo, revealed that if the ship’s decision has been declared inkracht, it will serve as a memorial to the resistance to transnational organized crime.

Previously, there were already Viking Vikings, ships involved in illegal fishing, and were monitored in Pangandaran, West Java. “I hope that it can be a monument to commemorate the resistance to transnational organized fisheries crime. The monument can be in a state of silence or move, used as a campaign vessel, given the writings of ships captured for illegal fishing,” he said.

It is known, this ship was arrested on Thursday April 5 2018 and around 60 miles from the southeast side of Pulau Weh, Sabang, Aceh province. FV STS-50 is a fugitive Interpol ship that has been affiliated with a company called Red Star Company Ltd which is domiciled in Belize. The country is a country that is often used by companies of organized crime as a mode of embezzlement of the identity of the beneficial owner.

The owner of this ship is allegedly a Russian citizen who has an office in South Korea and has several bank transactions in New York. This ship has carried out IUU fishing in the waters of the South Pole which its fishery management is under the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and landed catches in several countries in Asia.

Even this ship is known to falsify the type of fish species caught, and twice ran away from the jurisdiction of a country while still being examined, namely in Mozambique and China. In its operation this ship has claimed at least 8 nationalities. The last national flag they claim is Togo, and has been denied by the Togo government.

Source: SINDONews