Indonesia faces reckoning over maritime safety after deadly ferry disaster

Por Aisyah Llewellyn — South China Morning Post – News feed

Advertisement Indonesia This Week in Asia Health & Environment Indonesia faces reckoning over maritime safety after deadly ferry disaster

Experts say poor enforcement and inadequate supervision continue to leave passengers vulnerable, amid a rise in maritime incidents

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A video image released by Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) shows the bottom of passenger ferry Virgo Transport 8 is seen above the water after it overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea on Sunday. Photo: BASARNAS via AP

Survivors of the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ferry, which capsized on Sunday while en route from Banjarmasin to Surabaya, wait to disembark following their rescue at the port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Monday. Photo: AFP

Aisyah Llewellyn Published: 5:30pm, 17 Sep 2026 Updated: 5:32pm, 17 Sep 2026 Indonesia ’s latest ferry disaster has exposed persistent weaknesses in maritime safety oversight, experts have said, with poor enforcement and inadequate supervision continuing to leave passengers vulnerable across the sprawling archipelago. The capsizing of the Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea on Sunday has intensified scrutiny of a system that analysts say too often comes under pressure only after deadly accidents, rather than preventing them.

Six people have been confirmed dead and 129 remain missing after the passenger and cargo ferry capsized amid high winds and rough seas while travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

According to Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, 243 people – 213 passengers and 30 crew members – were aboard the vessel when the captain reported bad weather at about 2am local time on September 13.

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Fonte: South China Morning Post – News feed