NAVY NABS VESSEL ILLEGALLY CARRYING PEARL SHELLS

Surabaya, E Java, Sept 3 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Navy has captured a motor vessel, the KM Teguh Prima, which was illegally carrying a quantity of pearl shells in watere near Bali island.

"The boat is now being held at the naval base in Denpasar," a spokesman for the Navy's Eastern Fleet Command, Lt Col Toni Syaiful, said here Friday.

He said the KM Teguh Prima was intercepted by the Navy's KRI Badik-834 which was patrolling waters near Bali island and had noticed the civilian boat acting suspiciously.

When members of the KRI Badik-634 searched the civilian vessel, they found at least 40 drums filled with pearl shells that were not covered by the required trade documents. The boat's skipper was also unable to show various navigational and shipping papers, Syaiful said.
The 114-gross-ton vessel and its seven-man crew are now in detention at the navy's Denpasar base, he added.