On March 31st,
a pipeline on the east coast of the Indonesian island of Borneo burst
in just over 80 feet of water. The pipeline, owned by an oil company
called Pertamina, transferred crude oil from East Kalimantan, Borneo to a
refinery in Balikpapan. According to reports, the damage occurred when a
coal ship dropped anchor onto the pipeline and dragged it for nearly
300 feet along the bottom of Balikpapan Bay. Within
hours, it became clear that it would be devastating. The oil rose to
the surface, spread rapidly, caught fire. Now, five fishermen are dead
and over 1,000 residents are experiencing health problems from the
choking black smoke.
A few days later after the
spill and ensuing blaze, Indonesian officials declared a state of
emergency. By then, the slick had grown to some 13,000 hectares,
drenched nearly 40 miles of coastline, and made its way into nearly
impossible-to-clean areas like mangrove wetlands.
Authorities first claimed
that the slick was only marine oil used in boats, but by Wednesday it
was clear that the culprit had to be much a larger source. It was then
that they announced that it was the 20-year-old pipeline. “We suspect
the pipe was dragged by the ship that caught fire,” Oil and Gas Director
General Djoko Siswanto told reporters on Thursday. “At the time it was
bad weather, so they had to drop anchor.” Siswanto went on to explain
that anchoring is prohibited in the area.
Although the Balikpapan
Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) initially reported that the fire was
an attempt by Pertamina to get rid of the slick, they’ve since retracted
their statements. “We are sorry to report that the information that
Pertamina ordered the burning of the oil spill is not true,” BPBD wrote
in a social media post. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Pertamina, though, is under
heavy fire from environmental groups in the area. The company, along
with local government, has been accused of slow response times. “The
government is so late to mitigate the impact of this incident,”
Greenpeace spokesman Arifsyah Nasution told CNN. “The handling of the
oil spill is slow, which could be (due to a lack of) equipment
resources.”
The Balikpapan environmental
agency reported that, although the slick is still visible, the cleanup
is working. They’re using oil dispersant spray around the coast and oil
booms have trapped nearly 15,000 barrels of oil from the water. The
military, with assistance from local volunteers, have been working
around the clock to clean up the oil washing up along the coastline, but
the damage has been done. Pollution has spread throughout Balikpapan
bay, killing marine life that includes protected dugongs and dolphins.
