JABAR EKSPRES – The Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is working with Australia to repatriate 11 fishermen from Rote Island who were stranded on Bedwell Rowley Shoals Island, Western Australia, last Friday (28/4).
All of these fishermen were previously trapped in Cyclone Ilsa and were rescued by the Australian Authorities through the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC).
According to an official statement from the Director General of Maritime and Fishery Resources Supervision, Adin Nurawaluddin, explained that all the fishermen were known to come from PM Dioskouri 01 and PM Putri Jaya.
All 10 fishermen who were at PM Diskouri were rescued. Whereas in PM Putri, only 1 person was found and eight others have not been found.
After the conditions of the eleven fishermen were declared stable by the Broome Hospital, they were transferred to Darwin and allocated to the Northern Alternative Place of Detention (NAPOD) immigration at the Frontier Darwin Hotel to then be returned to Indonesia using a charter flight with the Darwin-Denpasar route.
“With humanitarian considerations, the Australian Government did not impose legal proceedings on the 11 Indonesian fishermen who were stranded in Australian territory due to the storm. So, as of Friday (28/4), around 16.40 WITA, they were able to return to Indonesia with assistance from the Australian Border. Force,” explained Adin.
Adin also explained that the process of repatriating the eleven fishermen was going well. It is the result of cooperation and fast action carried out by related institutions.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of PSDKP’s Violation Handling Directorate will facilitate the repatriation of the eleven fishermen from Denpasar to Kupang. The next one will be handed over to the Office of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of NTT Province.
