Indonesian Navy Foils Smuggling of 10 Tons of Illegal Fuel at Tulehu Port, Three Detained

Indonesian Navy personnel foiled an attempt to smuggle about 10 tons of illegal fuel at Tulehu Port, Salahutu District, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku. In the operation, three people were detained, consisting of cargo ship crew members and the driver of the tank truck carrying the fuel.

According to Rusandi Asdi, acting head of the Class II Tulehu Port Management Unit Office, the tank truck deposited the fuel onto a cement-laden cargo ship with the hull initials DM. The ship had earlier carried about 4,300 tons of cement from Manokwari and arrived in Tulehu on Wednesday (3/10) afternoon. After the loading and unloading process was completed, the tank truck returned to the port in the early hours of Thursday (4/10) to pour the fuel onto the ship.

Rusandi said his office had issued a fuel-loading permit after receiving a request from an agent claimed to be an official Pertamina agent. However, he stressed that the port authority's remit is limited to administrative aspects and does not cover investigating the origin of the fuel. "We, the port authority, knew there was loading and unloading activity; we issued the fuel-loading permit after receiving a fuel request from the agent, but the question of where the fuel came from or whether it was illegal is not our authority," he said when met on Monday (12/10).

"That night three people were detained, and the tank truck was also taken away," Rusandi said.

As of this news being published, the DM cargo ship had departed from Tulehu for Manokwari on Saturday (6/10) afternoon. Meanwhile, the local Indonesian Navy public relations office had not responded when asked for confirmation about the detention of the three people and the tank truck used to carry the illegal fuel onto the ship.

This case highlights gaps in oversight of fuel distribution in the archipelago. The smuggling method using cargo ships carrying other commodities often escapes monitoring because loading and unloading activity at small ports is frequently verified only administratively. The role of official Pertamina agents in issuing travel documents also needs to be traced to ensure there is no misuse of documents.

Illegal fuel smuggling not only harms the state in terms of revenue, but also risks creating unfair competition for legitimate businesses and threatening shipping safety. In Maluku, the heavy dependence on fuel supplies from outside the region makes this gap increasingly vulnerable to exploitation.

Going forward, stronger coordination between the port authority, the Indonesian Navy, and Pertamina will be key. Without improved governance, similar incidents risk recurring at other ports. Will law enforcement reach the masterminds behind this illegal fuel flow, or will it stop only at the drivers and ship crew?