VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Two Indonesian ship crews, who worked at the Italian fishing ship, MP Antartide, arrived safely at Soekarno-Hatta International airport on February 12, 2021. The arrival of the crews was facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated with Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency and Covid-19 Handling Task Force. Earlier, the two Indonesian crews along with other 16 crews, who are Italian, Senegal, and Tunisian national, were arrested for 108 days by Libya National Army after the ship was accused of violating the Libyan Sea boundary.  Since the first information was obtained, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Indonesian Embassy in Rome, Italy and the Indonesian Embassy in Tripoli have coordinated with authorities both in Italy and Libya. The release process was carried out by the Italian Government because of another motive, namely the release of 4 East Libyans who are currently imprisoned in Italy for trafficking in persons.

Protection of Indonesian ship crews is one of the main focuses of Indonesian representatives around the world, including in Panama. To improve the protection of Indonesian ship crews, the Indonesian Embassy in Panama City held a coordination meeting with the theme 'Finding the Best Solution for the Protection of Indonesian Citizen Ship Crews at High Seas in the Latin America and Caribbean Region.' Indonesian Ambassador to Panama, Sukmo Harsono in his statement last Saturday (13/2) said that the Indonesian Embassy was at the forefront that Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) would look for in seeking protection. However, so far, the Indonesian Embassy has never had data on the number of crew members sent by agents from Indonesia to overseas. According to Sukmo, it is time to consider the one-door mechanism in charge of issuing certification or departure permits, supervising work contracts, insurance, and collecting data on prospective of Indonesian Migrant Workers, to be informed to every Indonesian Embassy and all related parties.