Bodies of Thirteen Indonesian Crew of Oryong 501 Ship Repatriated

    Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The bodies of 13 Indonesian crew of the Oryong 501 ship were repatriated from Busan, South Korea, to Indonesia on Friday, at 2:50 a.m. local time, and officially received by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi.

         The 13 Indonesian nationals of the ill-fated Oryong 501 ship were identified as six crew members from Central Java (Mujahidin, Mukhamad Idris, Warno, Nur Kolis, Harjono, Barjo), three from West Java (Atep Roni, Dede Iksani, Heriyanto), two from Maluku (Albert Talapessy and Gaspar Jantje Tomasila), and one each from North Sulawesi (Mukhtar Mokodompit) and South Sulawesi (Syarifuddin).

         The bodies were handed over to the regional representatives and families on Friday at 7 a.m. local time, and witnessed by Minister Marsudi, Head of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Agency (BNP2TKI) Nusron Wahid, and South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tae-Young.

         Minister Marsudi lauded the sound cooperation and coordination among the governments of Indonesia, South Korea, and Russia during the search, recovery, and repatriation process of the victims of the Oryong 501 vessel, which sank in the Bering Sea, Russia, on December 1, 2014.

         "We (the Minister of Foreign Affairs) also spoke directly to the ship's owner, Sajo Industries to ensure that the rights of the Indonesian crew are met," she remarked.

         The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA's) Head of Sub-Directorate Indonesians Protection and Law Assistance June Kuncoro Hadiningrat had earlier remarked during a press briefing here on Wednesday that the 13 bodies were identified on December 29, 2014.

         "Besides the repatriation process, the Foreign Affairs Ministry also ensures that the victims' families will be given their due rights, including insurance and compensation," Hadiningrat noted.

         According to the MOFA, each family of the Oryong 501's Indonesian ship crew will receive insurance worth Rp150 million and compensation varying between Rp15 million and Rp20 million.

         Hadiningrat stated that the families will also receive special compensation between US$5 thousand and US$15 thousand from Sajo Industries, the company that owned Oryong 501 vessel.

         "The special compensation is a result of Minister Marsudi lobbying for compensation with Sajo Industries when she visited Busan, South Korea, prior to the ROK-ASEAN's 40th anniversary summit," he noted.

         Of the 60 crew aboard the ill-fated Oryong 501 vessel, 35 were Indonesian nationals.

         As of now, 16 bodies of Indonesian nationals have been identified, 13 have been repatriated on early Friday, and three more bodies will arrive in Jakarta on Friday night.

         Moreover, three Indonesian survivors: Teguh Haryono (43) from Papua, Wanto (36) from Central Java, and Naryanto bin Wastara (25) from West Java had also been repatriated on December 30, 2014. (WDY)