The anchor of the Panama-flagged bulk carrier ‘Ever Judger’ has reportedly caused the rupture of an underwater pipeline, which resulted in a massive oil spill and a subsequent deadly fire in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in late March.
In particular, the oil spill, reported on 31 March, sparked a fire which caused fatality of five fishermen who were at the scene at the time of the incident and were caught in the blaze. The bulk carrier ‘Ever Judger’ was also anchored at the time of the incident, but all of its crew was successfully evacuated.
Initially, the Indonesian state-owned energy giant Pertamina took over the responsibility for the spill, saying that it was caused by an underwater pipeline that cracked during its clean up operations. International media reported that the fire was sparked by workers to burn off the spill in the water’s surface.
However, an initial investigation by the Indonesian navy suggests the Ever Judger’s anchor has caused the rupture of the pipe, as the bulker was the only ship in the area at the time of the spill and divers found a 500-metre-long gash torn into the seabed which seems like the vessel’s anchor, according to Rear-Admiral Harjo Susmoro, head of the navy’s oceanography and hydrography center, as quoted by local media. It is noted that vessels are prohibited from dropping anchor in these area with undersea pipes.
The subsequent oil spill spread more than 16 miles, coating large areas of the coast in thick black sludge, causing one of the worst environmental incidents in the country in last years. Local authorities declared a state of emergency, as a result.
Despite these suggestions, the exact cause of the spill is yet to be officially determined. Regardless of the cause of the spill however, Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry announced that Pertamina’s infrastructure inspection regime and spill-prevention were insufficient.
