The MT Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 million), when it was seized last week, the Indonesian authorities said.
The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on Friday, the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security agency said.
"MT Arman was spoofing their automatic identification system (AIS) to show its position was in the Red Sea but in reality it is here," Aan told reporters.
Along with the Arman, authorities detained its Egyptian captain, 28 crew and 3 passengers, who were the family of a security officer on board, the agency said.
A "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela has been transferring cargoes in the Singapore Strait to avoid detection, a Reuters analysis showed this year.
Persons:
Arman, Stefanno Sulaiman, Fransiska, Lincoln, Clarence Fernandez
Organizations:
Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency, AIS JAKARTA, Malaysian, Thomson
Locations:
Marore, Cameroon, Iranian, Indonesia's North Natuna, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Singapore, Indonesia, Panamanian