The ship was carrying 243 people when it lost contact early on September 13 while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency. Authorities said the vessel later sank, prompting a large-scale operation involving rescue ships, naval assets, commercial vessels and a helicopter.
I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, said 103 people had been evacuated by midday Central Indonesian Time, comprising 102 survivors and one dead passenger. Three commercial vessels operating nearby responded after the ship encountered trouble and helped pull people from the sea.
Sudayana said the captain had reported rough seas, with waves reaching up to three metres, before sending a distress message that the ship was listing. The manifest identified 213 passengers and 30 crew members aboard. The ferry had departed Surabaya at 10.33am on Saturday and was scheduled to reach Banjarmasin at about 2pm on Sunday. Rescue authorities said they were coordinating with maritime agencies and monitoring weather conditions closely as aircraft and vessels searched the area for signs of people in the water.
A tanker operated by a subsidiary of state energy company Pertamina rescued 15 survivors and recovered the body of one victim. A tugboat operated by Transcoal Pacific rescued 38 people, while the MV Haida, operated by the same shipping company as Virgo Transport 8, picked up another 49 survivors.
The first group was being transported to Tuban Port in East Java, while 87 survivors rescued by the other two ships were being taken to Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin. Rescue officials said medical and reception arrangements had been prepared for those arriving ashore.
Search teams continued to comb the vessel’s last known area as conditions at sea complicated operations. The ship lost communication at about 2am local time after encountering severe weather on its overnight voyage from Surabaya, officials said.
Indonesia’s meteorology agency warned of elevated winds and waves across several maritime zones on Sunday, including the Java Sea. Its national marine warning said winds in waters south of the equator were generally blowing from east to southeast at between eight and 30 knots, with some of the strongest conditions detected over the Java Sea and neighbouring routes.
The vessel’s last reported position was about 148 kilometres from a pier in Banjarmasin, according to initial information provided by rescue authorities. An operations post was established at Trisakti as teams coordinated the search from South Kalimantan.
The rescue fleet included the KN SAR Laksmana, the Indonesian naval vessel KRI Nala and navigation ship KM Kunyit, alongside the three commercial vessels that had already recovered passengers. A helicopter was also deployed towards the last known position to support the sea search.
Officials had initially described the incident as a loss of communication before confirming later on Sunday that the passenger ship had sunk. Authorities had not publicly detailed the precise cause of the sinking or whether the vessel suffered structural or mechanical failure before it went down.
The scale of the search remained significant because more than half of those listed aboard had not yet been accounted for. The manifest placed the total number on board at 243, although passenger counts in maritime emergencies can be subject to verification as rescue teams reconcile lists with survivors and operators.
Sea transport is an important link between Indonesia’s many islands, particularly on routes connecting major population centres across Java, Kalimantan and other parts of the archipelago. Ferries and passenger ships frequently operate long inter-island routes where weather can change sharply and rescue operations may cover large areas.
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