A Taiwanese fishing boat believed to have been hijacked by its Indonesian crew was originally on its way to the Port of Sorong in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua, but changed its course and continued in a southwest direction, Indonesian authorities said yesterday.
As of noon yesterday, information gathered by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Center showed that the fishing boat registered in Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港) was about 20 nautical miles (37km) off Sorong, where Indonesian police and immigration officers were on standby awaiting the arrival of the vessel.
However, the fishing boat did not continue heading toward the port and there were no signs showing it had attempted to reach the coast. Instead, it continued its southwestward journey, Taiwan’s representative office in Indonesia said.
Saying that most Indonesian crewmembers on Taiwanese fishing vessels come from Sulawesi or East Java, officials at the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries said that the crewmembers on the boat were therefore unlikely to take the risk of landing on the coast of West Papua, a region they are unfamiliar with, but would likely steer the ship toward waters near their hometowns.
Taiwan’s representative office in Indonesia has asked the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Center and the Indonesian Maritime Security Coordinating Board to try to contact the boat.
Rahmadi Sunoko, an official at the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said on Friday that he cannot confirm whether the crew of the boat were safe because he was unable to establich contact with the boat.
Sunoko said he has requested assistance from authorities in Sorong and Manokwari, the capital of West Papua, to discover the vessel’s location.
Lin Chin-hsi (林進西), the owner of the boat, said he placed several satellite phone calls to the captain on Thursday, but nobody answered, even though the calls went through, leading him to suspect a hijacking.
The vessel set out from Palau for the Solomon Islands eight days ago.
It is operated by Taiwanese captain Chen Chih-wen (陳致文) and 12 Indonesian crewmembers.
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