Indonesian authorities launched a large-scale rescue operation on Sunday after passenger ship Virgo Transport 8carrying 243 people, overturned and sank in the Java Sea after losing contact amid severe weather conditions, according to reports.
The vessel, carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew members, departed Surabaya in East Java on Saturday and was heading towards Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. Authorities lost contact with the ship at around 2 a.m. Sunday after the vessel encountered rough seas, the reports stated.
Before communications were lost, the captain reportedly informed authorities that the ship was listing, or leaning to one side, amid the rough weather. Waves in the area were reaching up to three metres (10 feet), according to AP. Authorities later received information that the vessel had overturned, with Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency subsequently confirming that it had sunk.
The ship’s operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, alerted authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather. Indonesian search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said the agency mobilised available resources following the incident.
Rescue teams deployed ships and a helicopter to search the vessel’s last known location, while nearby vessels, including tugboats, also assisted in pulling people from the sea. However, rough seas and waves of up to three metres hampered rescue efforts, with Sudayana warning that conditions remained dangerous even for rescue vessels.
Six people have died and another 130 people remained missing as authorities continued the search. As many as 107 people have been rescued, according to latest reports.
The rescued passengers were being transferred to vessels involved in the operation and taken towards Banjarmasin, where medical assistance was being arranged. Authorities continued to monitor weather conditions as search teams worked to locate those still missing.
A definitive technical cause for the vessel’s overturning has not yet been established. Severe weather and rough seas have so far been identified as the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Indonesia, an archipelago of roughly 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferry services for inter-island transportation. Ferries are widely used because sea travel is generally more affordable and accessible than air travel. Reuters has noted that maritime safety standards are not always rigorously enforced in the country, contributing to its history of deadly maritime accidents.
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