FOR two months aboard the Run Zeng 03 and 05, Erwan Rudiyanto never drank clean water. The crew member from Tasikmalaya, West Java, relied on water from the air conditioning unit to quench his thirst. Erwan requested that his true identity be concealed for safety reasons. He is one of the survivors from the Run Zeng 03 and 05. “It was extremely difficult working on that ship,” he said, choking back tears during an interview on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Erwan recounted that working hours on the ship were nearly 24 hours a day. He was ordered by the captain to operate fishing equipment and sort the fish caught in the nets. The nonstop working hours often left Erwan and his colleagues ill. They had to sneak around the captain from China to avoid being forced to work during the night. “It felt like our strength was being drained,” he said.

Erwan’s suffering ended when he was dismissed. He stated that 27 Indonesian crew members working on the Run Zeng were suddenly asked to sign a document stating their willingness to quit with severance pay of Rp1.5 million (around US$96) each. They were dropped off near Dobo Port, Aru Islands, Maluku.

The management of Run Zeng then recruited new crew members, but the oppression continued. This time it affected Muhammad Sanusi, who left from Pati, Central Java. On his first day of work, Sanusi was asked to transfer fish caught by the Run Zeng 03 and 05 to the motorboat Mitra Utama Semesta. For three days, the crew worked without rest. He claimed to have once worked for 18 hours straight, from 7am to 1am.

According to Sanusi, the crew’s food was also substandard. He once ate rotten chicken and drank water from the air conditioning unit. On one occasion, Sanusi and his colleagues wanted to request some fish for their meals, but the captain forbade them.

Sanusi also had to attend to a colleague who had been injured by falling frozen fish. The crew member’s head was split open, and blood gushed out. He attempted to request medical supplies from the captain. “Instead, I was offered coffee to patch the wound on his head,” he recounted.

The treatment on the vessel led Sanusi and his colleagues to plan an escape. The only way to flee was to jump into the sea. He and his friends executed this plan on Thursday, April 11, 2024, while the Run Zeng 03 was passing near the Aru Islands, Maluku. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt and wrapping his phone in a plastic bag, one of Sanusi’s friends shouted to him, “If you dare to jump, I’ll follow!”

Moments later, “Splash!” Sanusi and five crew members of the Run Zeng 03 were tossed about in the open sea. In just a few minutes, the Run Zeng vanished from view. All that remained was the towering waves.

Inside of Run Zeng 03, June 2024. detik.com/Shafira Cendra Arini

The strong current caused one crew member named Juanaaby to lose his grip. “He got separated,” said Sanusi. Juanaaby was found dead the next day. Sanusi witnessed a photo of Juanaaby’s body, which was no longer intact.

News of the five surviving crew members from the Run Zeng 03 reached the Paguyuban Mitra Nelayan Sejahtera—an association of fishermen based in Pati. This community operates in Fishing Management Area 718, which includes the Aru Sea, Arafura Sea, and Eastern Timor Sea. They wrote to Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono on Sunday, April 14.

The letter contained information about foreign vessels operating in Indonesia. They also reported that the management of Run Zeng had previously requested assistance in landing and transferring their catch to containers at Dobo Port. The Paguyuban Mitra Nelayan Sejahtera rejected that request because the captain of the Run Zeng could not present valid ship documents. “We urge the Ministry to seize the illegal foreign ship,” said the association’s Secretary, Siswo Purnomo.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries apprehended the Run Zeng 03 in the Arafura Sea on Sunday, May 19. The Run Zeng 03 and 05 had been wanted by the Ministry since the first quarter of 2024. The foreign vessels with Russian flag were sailing in Indonesian waters illegally as they lacked permits and operated banned trawl fishing equipment. During the operation in May, the Run Zeng 05 managed to escape but was later captured in Papua New Guinea.

Although the Run Zeng 03 and 05 were ultimately apprehended in May 2024, they were suspected of having entered Indonesian waters as early as April 2023. Tracking via the Automatic Identification System (AIS) indicated that the Run Zeng 03 and 05 sailed from Taizhou, China. The two vessels were detected in various regions of Indonesia until February 2024, when their AIS transmission stopped.

While in Indonesia, Run Zeng’s track was detected at the Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, on May 3, 2023. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry officers had in fact held Run Zeng in the northern waters of Jakarta. A report in Russian recording Russian vessel and port activities during 2023 revealed that Run Zeng vessels were held at Tanjung Priok because of some indications of violation. Among others, they failed to show vessel certificates and navigation records. However, five months later, according to the data of Marine Traffic—a website recording sea traffic—Run Zeng just anchored at the Port of Bayah, Banten, and went on sailing to the Banda Sea, Maluku Islands.

Two fishery entrepreneurs aware of the Run Zeng investigation revealed that the two vessels were once again intercepted by officials from the Maritime Affairs Ministry in Ambon. They created a report of the investigation. However, the ships were allegedly released by the Ministry’s officials the day after.

Director-General of Supervision of Marine Resources and Fisheries, Pung Nugroho Saksono, denied the rumors that his agency had released the Run Zeng. He stated that the Run Zeng were docked at Tanjung Priok and Banda Sea to process their permits. “They have been sailing even though their processes haven’t been completed,” said Pung when met in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday, September 26.

Pung is suspected of allowing the Run Zeng to continue operating despite incomplete ship documents. A doctorate holder in marine science from Sam Ratulangi University, Manado, Pung’s name was mentioned by Gunawan Winarso, the operator of Run Zeng in Indonesia, in court documents related to illegal transshipment cases handled by the Tual District Court, Maluku.

In a copy of the Tual District Court Decision No. 2/Pid.Sus-PRK/2024/PN, it is stated, “Ipung was the one ordered to allow the transshipment, then he was the one who apprehended it.” Pung claimed that his actions were part of an investigation strategy to capture Gunawan and the Run Zeng. “It’s okay to be mentioned in the trial because my actions in the field were a technique to blend in with the perpetrators,” he said.