According to a previous report by the Associated Press, which the Ministry confirmed, 200 armed navy members stormed the ship "Mirna" owned by the "Losinjska plovidba" shipping company from Rijeka, and detained its crew.
A spokesman for the Indonesian navy said the navy acted upon orders from the prosecution which claims that the ship is carrying illegal cargo. The ship has been waging a legal battle with the Indonesian authorities since August 2004, when they accused it of using improper travel documents.
The Foreign Ministry said it was surprised with the behaviour of Indonesia's executive authorities which it said was contrary "to the official position of the highest state representatives, who advocate the full establishment of legal order and the rule of law."
The Croatian Embassy in Indonesia too has strongly protested against the armed attack on the ship, asking that the ship be allowed to leave Indonesia and that the perpetrators be punished.
A representative of the Rijeka shipping company, Zlatko Mokovic, told reporters in Rijeka
that he was in touch with the captain of the ship and that all members of the crew were unharmed and well.
Mokovic said that the International Transport Workers' Federation had been informed about the incident so that it could help release the ship.
Mokovic said his company would sue Indonesia and seek damages because it was holding the ship contrary to rulings by a local court.
According to the Ministry and the Rijeka shipping company, the Mirna was hired to transport logs loaded in an Indonesian port on the island of Papua. As it was leaving the port in August 2004, the ship was stopped by the Indonesian navy, which established that the ship did not have proper documents and escorted it to the port of Surabaya, where it held the vessel under its control.
Early in 2005 a trial started against the captain of the ship who was charged with navigating the ship with improper documents. In April a verdict was passed imposing on him a fine of US$2,200. The fine was paid, which on May 6 made the verdict final and the ship and its crew were officially free to leave Indonesia, but this did not happen.
The Croatian Embassy in Jakarta has officially requested the Indonesian Foreign Ministry to respect court rulings, urging the executive authorities to stop obstructing the implementation of court decisions and allow the ship to leave the country.
Representatives of the Indonesian state institutions involved in the case on August 20 adopted conclusions of which they informed the Croatian Embassy last Sunday. The Croatian Embassy in turn informed them that the Rijeka company had accepted the request of the Indonesian authorities to pay around one million US dollars as security during the further court proceedings, so that the ship could leave the country.
On Monday afternoon an Indonesian war ship with guns pointed at the "Mirna" circled the ship and on Tuesday morning some 200 navy personnel forcibly impounded the ship, accompanied by representatives of the state prosecutor's office and the head of the Surabaya port authorities. With a gun pointed at his head, the ship's captain was told to sign a document in the Indonesian language, which he refused to do without the presence of an attorney and an official interpreter. The navy personnel then left the ship, but 12 soldiers stayed on the ship, the Ministry said in the statement.
Officials at the Ministry claim that Indonesia's executive authorities did not inform the Croatian Embassy or the authorised representatives of the Rijeka shipping company or the ship's commander of their intentions or the results of their operation.