Banjarmasin port sets up emergency post after ship accident

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2 hours ago

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) – Banjarmasin Port Authority and Harbormaster Office (KSOP) of the Transportation Ministry has set up an emergency post at Trisakti Port to handle casualties from the Virgo Transport 8, a passenger and roll-on roll-off ship, accident in the Java Sea.

KSOP Banjarmasin Head Heri Purwanto said the post would coordinate the KSOP, Banjarmasin SAR Office, Indonesia’s state-owned port operator (Pelindo), the Banjarmasin Navigation District Office, ship agents, and victims’ families.

“We responded quickly to the incident involving the Virgo Transport 8 in the Masalembo waters. Our main priority is everyone’s safety through coordinated rescue operations,” Purwanto said here on Sunday.

In the latest update, 115 of the 243 people aboard had been evacuated safely or were receiving medical treatment, while joint SAR teams continued searching and accounting for everyone aboard.

The rescue operation, led by the Banjarmasin SAR Office, was supported by vessels near the incident site, including the KM Hai Da, MT Mau Ha, and TB TCP.

The Virgo Transport 8 began listing and lost contact near Masalembo at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday after departing Surabaya for Banjarmasin at 6:52 a.m. Saturday (Sept 12).

According to its manifest, the Indonesian-flagged passenger ro-ro vessel, with a gross tonnage of 8,540 GT, was carrying 243 people and 89 vehicles.

Those aboard comprised 30 crew members, 27 ship-related workers, 59 adult passengers, one child, and 126 drivers and assistants, according to the manifest.

The suspected cause, whether natural, technical or human, as well as possible effects on the cargo, environmental pollution, and other property, remains under investigation.

KSOP Banjarmasin continues to monitor the incident and will provide official updates on the search, rescue and casualty data as operations progress. Basarnas data showed that as of Sunday noon, the joint SAR teams had evacuated 103 of the 243 people aboard the vessel.

The TB Mauhaw IX evacuated 16 people, including 15 survivors and one person who died, while the TB TCP evacuated 38 people, all of whom survived.

The MV Haida evacuated 49 survivors, bringing the total reported by Basarnas to 103. The 16 people aboard the TB Mauhaw IX will be taken to Tuban Port, while those aboard the other vessels will go to Trisakti Port.