July 31, 2022, 06:42 PM
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A video circulating online with a caption that claimed it showed pirates hijacking a ferry bound for Batam island from Singapore was actually taken during a simulation exercise by the Indonesian navy in 2020.
The video, posted on a Facebook public group on Friday (July 29), has been shared over 5,900 times. It was also forwarded on WhatsApp.
Screenshot via Facebook
The claim, however, is false, as the video was actually taken during a simulation exercise.
Simulation exercise in 2020
According to Batam News, the simulation was held on Nov. 12, 2020.
The drill was held at Karimun, one of the islands in Riau Islands that is close to Singapore and Batam, iNews.id reported back in 2020.
A comparison between the photo by iNews.id and scenes from the video indicate that they were both taken during the same exercise.
Image via iNews.id
Screenshot via Facebook
The video also showed several people, most likely reporters, holding up their cameras to shoot the scenes.
According to iNews.id, in the simulation exercise, three "pirates" -- posed by navy personnel -- had taken over the ferry, and one was eventually "shot dead".
Such exercises are routinely conducted by the Indonesian navy every six months as part of their training to improve the preparedness of their personnel against maritime crime.
Indonesian navy spokesperson Julius Widjojono told AFP on Nov. 23, 2020, that the "injured" man seen in the beginning of the video was their personnel.
Top image via Facebook
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