Today's Top 3 News: Indonesia's Fisheries Exports Decline as Iran War Disrupts Trade

3 hours ago 4

March 19, 2026 | 10:44 pm

Benoa Port in Bali is one of Indonesia's largest fishing ports, with tuna as its main catch. Source: greenpeace.org

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo English compiled the top 3 news on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Here are the highlights: Indonesia Considers Oil and Gas Imports From Brunei, Russia; Indonesia's Fisheries Exports Decline as Iran War Disrupts Trade; andFact Check: Video Claiming U.S. Aircraft Carrier Sunk by Iran Is AI-Generated.

The following is the list of the top 3 news on Tempo English today:

1. Indonesia Considers Oil and Gas Imports From Brunei, Russia

Indonesia is considering importing oil from a wider range of suppliers, including Brunei Darussalam and Russia, as the government seeks to strengthen energy security amid geopolitical uncertainty caused by the escalating Iran-Israel conflict.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the move is aimed at diversifying Indonesia’s energy supply and reducing dependence on any single country or region.

“All countries are possible. What is important for us right now is the availability of the goods, and secondly, price competitiveness. That is the most important,” Bahlil said at the Energy Ministry office in Jakarta on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

Reuters also reported that Indonesia is considering oil purchases from Russia as global crude prices rise due to the conflict in the Middle East.

According to Bahlil, the option to import oil from Russia has become more feasible after the United States issued a 30-day waiver allowing countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea.

Click here to read more

2. Indonesia's Fisheries Exports Decline as Iran War Disrupts Trade

Indonesia's Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has recorded a decline in the volume of fishery exports due to the conflict between the United States-Israel and Iran that erupted around late February 2026.

"In terms of volume, it is indeed somewhat constrained," said Head of the Agency for the Control and Supervision of the Quality of Marine and Fishery Products, Ishartini, in a written statement on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

Ishartini explained that the decline in exports was not due to weakened demand. According to her, the decrease in export volume is due to constraints in the global supply chain.

Constraints in the global supply chain due to geopolitical conflict occur because of changes in shipping routes, increased logistics costs, and limited container and mother vessel availability. "All of these also contribute to raising product prices," she said.

Click here to read more

3. Fact Check: Video Claiming U.S. Aircraft Carrier Sunk by Iran Is AI-Generated

A video posted on Facebook [archive] claims that the Iranian military successfully destroyed a U.S. aircraft carrier on March 4, 2026. The footage shows dozens of missiles raining down on the aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, causing it to burst into flames.

The video shows plumes of black smoke rising high into the sky while several fighter jets parked on the deck are thrown into the sea. The narration in the video states that Washington’s flagship aircraft carrier sank after being struck by Iran’s advanced missiles.

So, is it true that a U.S. aircraft carrier was sunk by Iran's advanced missiles?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the content through image analysis and by comparing it with reports from credible sources. The results show that the content was generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

A Veo watermark is visible in the bottom right corner of the video, indicating that it was generated using Google’s Veo AI model.

Click here to read more

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Today's Top 3 News: Indonesia Considers Oil and Gas Imports From Brunei, Russia

1 hari lalu