BEIJING (AP) – The Chinese government on Wednesday requested Indonesia to treat a group of persistent Chinese sailors fairly, but gave no indication of what their oil tanker was doing when it was found at sea carrying fuel from an Iranian ship.
The Iranian flag MT Horse and the Panamanian flag MT Freya were seized on Sunday and are suspected of illegally transferring fuel to the sea, shutting down their identification systems and other violations. According to the Indonesian authorities, 36 Iranian and 25 Chinese crew members were detained.
Iran has been selling oil on the black market since then-President Donald Trump imposed sanctions in 2018 and threatened to punish countries that bought Iranian crude oil. Iranian oil tankers switch off tracking equipment to hide their destinations.
Indonesian authorities have confirmed to the Chinese embassy that the crew members are “in good condition”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
The embassy has asked Indonesian authorities “to investigate the matter impartially according to the law, and to ensure the health, safety and legal rights and interests of the crew,” Zhao said.
He gave no details about the owner or destination of the Chinese ship.
The Indonesian government said on Wednesday that both tankers were anchored from Batam Island in the Riau Islands south of Singapore.
In August, U.S. officials said the Trump administration seized 1.1 million barrels of gasoline from four tankers bound from Iran to Venezuela.
In 2018, ships were captured on satellite photos transferring oil to North Korean ships off the Chinese coast in a possible attempt to evade UN sanctions against North Korea. The Chinese government has said it will investigate, but has yet to release the results.