To survive, crew members on foreign ships drink air conditioning droplets

Indonesian migrant boat crew are in a vulnerable position due to the lack of protection and supervision.

DOKUMENTASI PSDKP KKP

The Indonesian fishing boat KM Mitra Utama Semesta has become the evidence that was confiscated at the Maritime and Fisheries Resource Monitoring and Surveillance Base (PSDKP) of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in Tual, Maluku, on Wednesday (17/4/2024).

The revelation of the chain of crimes related to the theft of fish, smuggling of subsidized fuel, and human trafficking on illegal foreign vessels in mid-April 2024 is like revealing the tip of the iceberg of transnational crimes in the fisheries sector. The exploitation of migrant Indonesian crew members on ships seems to never end.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries secured the Indonesian fish transport ship KM Mitra Utama Semesta (MUS) in the Arafura Sea, Maluku, on April 14 2024. The ship was indicated to have transshipped ( transshipment) with two illegal foreign fishing vessels, Run Zeng (RZ) 03 and RZ 05, namely transshipping 100 tons of fish, smuggling 150 tons of diesel fuel, and distributing 55 Indonesian crew members (ABK) to the ship foreign.

Robby Saktiawan, a crew member of RZ 03 ship, said that he has never worked as a fisherman or a crew member of a fishing vessel. He took the risk of registering himself as a crew member of a foreign ship due to the lure offered by the recruiter agent, namely a holiday allowance (THR) amounting to IDR 2 million, a bonus of IDR 500,000, and a salary of IDR 2 million. The THR was promised to be given to him directly upon boarding the ship.

In early April 2024, 55 crew members departed on the ship KM MUS heading to the waters of Arafura. Upon arriving in the Arafura Sea on April 6, 2024, they were assigned to transfer fish from the ship KM RZ 03 to the KM MUS. However, despite their work, the promised THR and premium payments by the recruiting agent were rejected by the captain. As a result, a total of 31 crew members on the RZ 03 and RZ 05 went on strike.

"Workers on strike do not receive food and drink. We are forced to drink from water dripping from AC units and rainwater catchment to survive," said Robby when contacted from Jakarta on Wednesday (April 16, 2024).

Also Read: Dark Alleys of Transnational Crime in the Fisheries Sector

Job and income uncertainty prompted Robby and five other crew members to escape from the foreign fishing vessel on April 11, 2024. They fled by jumping into the sea when the foreign vessel anchored in the waters of Penambulai Island, Maluku Islands, to transfer the catch to an Indonesian fish transport vessel.

A total of 31 crew members who were initially on strike were forced to return to work to be able to get food.

Of the six crew members who escaped, five people survived and were helped by the purse seine ship. One missing crew member was found dead by residents of Koijabi Village, Aru Islands Regency, Maluku. The crew member who died had the initials JA, and came from Binjai, North Sumatra.

"I am already traumatized. I don't want to work at sea anymore," said Robby, who previously worked as a night guard in his village in Bengkulu.

Sanusi Muhammad, another crew member who successfully escaped from the RZ 03 ship, expressed similar sentiments. A total of 31 crew members who initially went on strike were forced to return to work in order to get food. However, the food they received was only one tray to be divided among the 31 crew members. Due to this uncertainty, Sanusi decided to escape from the ship by jumping into the sea and floating for almost 3 hours until he was rescued by a passing ship.

"I am truly fed up. Moreover, with casualties (ABK) dying, it seems that I will not return to the sea again," said Sanusi, a resident from Lombok who lives in Indramayu, West Java.

Photo of an illegal foreign ship suspected of entering the Arafura Sea in January 2024.

Sanusi admits that he has never been experienced as a sailor, but was tempted to work on a foreign fishing boat due to the promise of receiving Lebaran holiday pay and premiums during his time on board. The recruitment method used by agencies located in Pati, Central Java, was through social media (Facebook). After registering through social media, aspiring workers were contacted by the agency through WhatsApp and then picked up by the agency. They were recruited as sailors without a sea work agreement and their ID cards were held by the agency.

The Manager of Human Rights in Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia, Miftahul Choir, stated that dozens of Indonesian crew members are still suspected to be onboard both foreign ships. The government needs to work together with law enforcement agencies to pursue illegal foreign vessels and carry out efforts to repatriate or return the crew members to their respective regions of origin. The government must ensure the recovery of these crew members' rights, including their wages and social security.

The government needs to work synergistically through law enforcement officials to pursue illegal foreign ships and carry out repatriation or return efforts for their crews to their respective regions.

Miftah added that fisheries workers on foreign ships, especially those who take unofficial routes, are highly vulnerable to experiencing practices of slavery. The tempting offers from recruitment agents to lure potential workers often lead victims into the trap of slavery on foreign fishing vessels. Meanwhile, the oversight and protection mechanisms for fisheries workers are still minimal.

DFW Indonesia records show that during the period of November 22, 2019, to February 21, 2021, there were 35 Indonesian citizens who died while working on foreign fishing vessels. Of that number, the majority were reported from Chinese fishing vessels.

Also Read: Slavery on Foreign Fishing Ships

Based on Kompas records, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) during the period May 2019 to June 2020 received 118 complaints from migrant fishing crew working on foreign fishing vessels. The results of a joint study between Greenpeace and SBMI in reviewing the complaints of 62 crew members revealed that there were 45 foreign fishing vessels suspected of being forced labor places for migrant crew members from Indonesia in the period May 2019 to June 2020. (Kompas.id, 8/29/2023).

Out of the 45 foreign fishing vessels, 33 were Chinese-flagged ships, four were Taiwanese, two were from Hong Kong, one was Russian, one was from Ivory Coast, one was from Nauru, and three were of unknown origin. The most common complaint regarding forced labor indicators was salary withholding (87 percent), followed by inadequate working and living conditions (82 percent), then fraud (80 percent), and vulnerability abuse (67 percent).

Acting Director General of Marine Resources and Fisheries Supervision (PSDKP) KKP Pung Nugroho Saksono, when holding a press conference at PSDKP Tual Base, Maluku, Wednesday (17/4/2024), stated that multidimensional crimes, namely fish theft by foreign vessels, Subsidized fuel smuggling, human trafficking, and slavery are indicated as extraordinary crimes. Moreover, this crime involved a foreign-national syndicate, in the form of Indonesian vessels assisting foreign fishing vessels in committing fisheries crimes.

Pung added that the case experienced by Indonesian ABK shows the poor treatment by illegal foreign ships. His team continues to investigate the case. The goal is to investigate the perpetrator behind the domestic ship, and to pursue the foreign ship.

Director of the Handling of PSDKP KKP Violations, Teuku Elvitrasyah, added that addressing multidimensional violations requires synergy between agencies and law enforcement officials because fishery investigators only focus on fisheries. "We will collaborate with relevant investigators dealing with fuel issues and crimes related to human trafficking," he said.

Also read: Massive and Systematic Exploitation of Two Foreign Ships in Arafura