Search for Missing Passengers After Java Sea Ferry Disaster

In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, rescue teams intensified their search efforts on Monday for dozens of individuals missing after a ferry capsized in the Java Sea. Bad weather conditions caused the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ferry to overturn, resulting in at least six fatalities and leaving 129 people unaccounted for.

The ferry was carrying over 240 people when its captain made a distress call. The vessel was listing amid rough seas, contending with waves as high as three meters. It was en route from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on Borneo Island. The contact with the ferry was lost around 2 a.m. on Sunday, shortly before reports surfaced of the vessel overturning in the Masalembo waters, 148 kilometers from Banjarmasin.

Footage from the National Search and Rescue Agency on Sunday depicted the ferry adrift in choppy waters during a helicopter search. By Monday, 17 ships and aircraft, along with 622 personnel from the military, police, and other agencies, were actively participating in search operations. Mohammad Syafii, the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, stated that specialized underwater teams and navy-operated drones were employed to enhance and expedite the efforts of locating survivors and victims.

We remain hopeful of finding more survivors, Mohammed Syafii expressed in a video briefing.

The search teams, supported by nearby tugboats and passing ships, managed to rescue 108 individuals and recover six bodies on Sunday.

The manifest indicated that the ship carried 243 people, composed of 213 passengers and 30 crew members. However, in Indonesia, discrepancies between the manifest and actual passenger numbers are not uncommon. The ferry was also holding 89 vehicles.

Relatives of the missing gathered at command centers both in Banjarmasin’s Trisakti port and in Surabaya, awaiting news of their loved ones who were aboard the ferry and remain unaccounted for.

The Virgo Transport 8, a 119-meter-long ferry built in Japan in 1987, was operated in Japan until last year when sold to Indonesia. In this archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, ferries are a frequent mode of transportation, with accidents regularly reported, often due to inadequate enforcement of safety standards.