PHNOM PENH – Indonesia has been accused of violating the human rights of an oil tanker crew in a growing international dispute over a $ 21 million shipment of crude that Cambodia claims was stolen.

The Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Strovolos, estimated to carry nearly 300,000 barrels of crude from Cambodia’s unsuccessful first oil company, was seized by the Indonesian navy off the country’s coast in July.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials have claimed he fled with crude from the country’s Apsara oil field after Singaporean operator KrisEnergy went bankrupt after just six months of operation.

World Tankers Management, which manages the vessel, issued a statement on Monday’s behalf and on behalf of the owner, saying the crew members had been subjected to “questioning” by Indonesian authorities.

The International Maritime Organization’s Integrated Global Shipping Information System lists the shipowner as Strovolos Shipping, registered in Liberia.

World Tankers said that after failing to resolve issues with KrisEnergy, Cambodia used a request for assistance from Indonesia to “compel owners to accept their claims without proof or payment,” the statement said.

He called the move a “distasteful and unethical tactic” that violated the human rights of the crew and said he had “serious concerns” that there would be no appropriate procedure if the crew were returned to Cambodia.

The statement released by World Tankers said Indonesian Maritime Police boarded the ship in the early hours of Saturday and took the crew – 13 Indians, three Bangladeshis and three Myanmar citizens – ashore for questioning. He did not say whether the captain, a Bangladeshi national, was among them.

The arrest follows an intervention by the Cambodian government, according to the statement, which specifies that the crew members were “questioned ashore in teams” by the Indonesian authorities. He called the sailors “innocent victims” of “reprehensible conduct” by the Cambodian government.

An Indonesian Navy spokesperson in a statement to Nikkei Asia said the Navy was involved in questioning the crew. He added that Indonesia’s initial seizure of the vessel was not based on a request from Cambodia but rather was intended to anchor in the country’s waters without permission. The statement said a “legal process” was underway.

KrisEnergy, which signed a production agreement with Cambodian authorities granting the government a 5% stake in the company, is currently in the hands of court administrators.

The World Tankers statement said the question of who owned the oil had yet to be resolved, but Cambodia’s charge of theft was “baseless”. KrisEnergy had told the owner of the tanker that he was opposed to the oil being donated to Cambodia “because it would violate their property rights,” the statement said.

The ship had no choice but to leave the Apsara oil field in the Gulf of Thailand when KrisEnergy went bankrupt and could no longer restock the tanker, the statement said.

“The charter was terminated due to the charterers’ breaches of key obligations. In law, the vessel had no obligation to return to Apsara,” he said. “There has never been any intention or suggestion that anything be done with the oil on board other than to unload it as soon as its ownership is proven and an agreement is reached on payment to the owners of the vessel. the money they are owed. “

The government of Cambodia has not provided any evidence to the ship’s owners to support its claim that it owns the cargo on board, the World Tankers statement added.

KrisEnergy and the Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Nikkei.

Additional reporting from Ismi Damayanti in Jakarta.