The ship, which was carrying 200 tonnes of oil waste, sank on 25 July and the wreck has begun to spill its cargo into fishing grounds in the surrounding area.
In a statement Indonesian Environment Ministry spokesman Sudaryono said, “The ship went down as it was trying to dock at a town in the Karimun region of the island chain close to Singapore and about 800km north-west of Jakarta.”
“The extent of the pollution [is] not yet known,” he added.
According to Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim, “[I have] deployed a team to the area to inspect the damage and [am] consulting with [my] Singaporean counterpart over compensation.”
“We will certainly seek compensation from the ship owner as well as from the Singaporean government, because the spill has hurt local fishermen,” he added without elaborating further.
The Indonesian navy, in a statement, declared there were no casualties when the vessel sank. The Singapore government was not available for comment.
