Jakarta. Maritime transport safety remains an issue for the archipelagic Indonesia as President Prabowo Subianto nears his second year.

Indonesia has seen countless ship accidents in recent years; most recently, a passenger ferry capsized in the Java Sea. Maritime expert of ITS Surabaya Raja Oloan Saut Gurning said that the government could not simply blame extreme weather. 

"Maritime transport safety still faces classic problems as we are nearly into two years of Prabowo's administration," Raja said.

"Extreme weather is often made the scapegoat. In reality, human error, regulatory weaknesses, and vessel seaworthiness are some of the key contributing causes," Raja said, citing transportation safety committee KNKT reports and empirical data.

In 2025 alone, KNKT launched eight probes into six ship sinkings, one fire, and one collision case. Passenger and cargo overloading is common during homecoming and holiday seasons.

"Authorities often issue sailing approval letters simply as a formality without thorough physical inspections. Priority is given to fulfilling administrative requirements rather than ensuring the vessel's physical and operational seaworthiness," he stated.

He went on to say the letter issuance must be locked into a digital system to prevent it from being easily negotiated manually.

Raja proposed full digitalization of passenger ticketing based on their ID card numbers integrated with port entry systems.

Such a system could help ensure consistency between the number of tickets purchased, the manifest, and the actual number of passengers on board.

Indonesia should install automatic weighing sensors for roll-on/roll-off vessels which are used to carry vehicles. 

"Loads exceeding the registered gross tonnage must be automatically rejected by the system without manual intervention," he said.

According to Raja, independent audits of fire protection and ship stability systems of the vessels are key. Relying solely on routine annual surveys is insufficient.

Raja acknowledged that these improvements would entail additional costs. Consequently, the government needs to come up with financing schemes to cover repairs, verification processes, and fleet modernization.

"Ship operators often do not intentionally neglect safety; rather, their profit margins are squeezed by low rates, leaving them unable to purchase new vessels or carry out high-standard maintenance," he said.

The analyst called for the establishment of a maritime fund offering low-interest financing through national banks for the construction of new vessels at domestic shipyards.

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