Jakarta. The Transportation Ministry is tightening safety oversight of passenger and roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries, ordering operators to strengthen vessel self-inspections and conduct regular emergency drills following a series of deadly maritime accidents over the past year.

Director General of Sea Transportation Lollan Panjaitan gathered shipping operators and other maritime stakeholders in an online meeting Tuesday to reinforce the requirements.

“Passenger and Ro-Ro ferry safety is a shared responsibility. Government inspections remain important, but safety cannot depend solely on inspections conducted by officials,” Lollan said.

He said operators and crews must carry out their own inspections independently, honestly, objectively and consistently.

Inspection reports must accurately reflect a vessel's actual condition so that deficiencies can be identified and corrected, he added.

The ministry previously issued a 2024 decree governing self-inspections of seaworthiness for Indonesian-flagged passenger and passenger Ro-Ro vessels, followed by a 2026 circular aimed at strengthening general emergency drills aboard ships.

Self-inspections are intended to ensure that vessels and their safety equipment are physically checked rather than treated merely as an administrative requirement.

Emergency drills, meanwhile, are designed to ensure that crew members understand their responsibilities, know how to operate safety equipment and can respond quickly and in a coordinated manner during an emergency.

The inspections cover vessel documentation, hull and machinery, safety equipment, crew requirements, radio communications, pollution prevention and other areas depending on the type and characteristics of the vessel.

Series of Ferry Disasters
The renewed safety push comes as Indonesia confronts a series of serious passenger-ferry accidents.

In July 2025, the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank in the Bali Strait shortly after departing Banyuwangi in East Java for Bali with 65 people aboard. Authorities eventually confirmed 30 survivors and 18 deaths, while 17 people remained missing when the national search operation ended after two weeks.

More recently, the KMP Mutiara Sentosa II caught fire in waters north of Sumenep, East Java, on Aug. 2 while sailing from Surabaya to Makassar. The Transportation Ministry said 238 people were ultimately evacuated, including five who died.

Ten days later, another ferry, KMP Putri Yasmin, caught fire in waters off Bali. The ministry reported 172 survivors and one fatality. The incident also exposed discrepancies in passenger records: the ship's manifest listed 114 passengers, excluding crew, while rescuers ultimately found 173 people.

The latest and most severe accident occurred on Sept. 13, when the Virgo Transport 8 capsized in bad weather in the Java Sea while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin with 243 people aboard. The disaster triggered a massive search and underwater recovery operation, with more than 100 people still unaccounted for more than a week after the accident.

Crews Must Be Ready for Emergencies
Transportation Ministry Director of Shipping and Seafarers Samsuddin said emergency drills must be conducted seriously and tailored to the characteristics and operational risks of individual vessels.

Drills should include scenarios involving fires, flooding or leaks, abandoning ship and people falling overboard.

Operators must also evaluate each exercise afterward to identify weaknesses and ensure they are corrected in subsequent drills.

“Drills will not be effective if crew members only know the procedures in theory,” Samsuddin said.

“Crew members must be familiar with the safety equipment available aboard the vessel and be capable of using it during an emergency.”

The ministry also highlighted the importance of crews being able to operate emergency communications equipment, which is crucial for coordination when vessels encounter critical situations.

Passengers, meanwhile, must receive safety information before departure.

Operators are required to explain how to use life jackets, evacuation procedures, emergency signals and the location of muster stations where passengers should assemble during an emergency, Samsuddin said.

Vessel alarm systems must also be clearly audible and recognizable to passengers.

“Before departure, the crew must play the emergency signals for passengers so they know what the signals mean when an emergency occurs,” Samsuddin said.

The ministry said emergency drills must not be treated simply as an exercise in regulatory compliance.

Their implementation must be verifiable by local technical units and marine inspectors, including through documentation carrying the date and time of the exercise.

“The drills must also be verifiable through documentation containing the date and time, or a timestamp,” Samsuddin said.

“This gives inspectors evidence that the exercise was actually conducted and allows them to evaluate any shortcomings so they can be corrected in the next drill.”

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