The surge in the price of non-subsidised diesel fuel has caused the\ncollapse of the capture fishing industry in Indramayu Regency. Hundreds\nof vessels are unable to set sail, resulting in thousands of crew\nmembers being left idle.<\/p>\n
In response, hundreds of fishermen and vessel owners affiliated with\nthe Pantura Fishermen Movement held a protest rally at the Karangsong\nFish Auction Site in Indramayu Regency on Monday (4\/5\/2026). In addition\nto delivering speeches, they read out a letter containing demands\naddressed to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, West Java Governor\nDedi Mulyadi, and Indramayu Regent Lucky Hakim.<\/p>\n
The General Chairman of the Pantura Fishermen Movement, Kajidin,\nstated that the increase in non-subsidised diesel prices is severely\nstrangling the industry, as it is not offset by rising fish prices. This\nhas led to hundreds of vessels currently unable to operate.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiesel prices have skyrocketed. For nearly two months, we\u2019ve been at\na standstill. There are hundreds of vessels that haven\u2019t gone to sea,\u201d\nsaid Kajidin.<\/p>\n
Currently, the price of industrial diesel stands at around Rp 27,000\nper litre. Just a short time ago, the price of industrial diesel was\nstill around Rp 16,000 per litre.<\/p>\n
Kajidin acknowledged that some vessels are still at sea because they\ndeparted before the diesel price surge. However, those vessels will face\nthe same fate upon returning to land.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will be a nightmare for us when those vessels dock, because\nthey too won\u2019t be able to set sail again due to the soaring fuel\nprices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kajidin urged the government to step in to save those involved in the\ncapture fishing industry. One way to do this would be to set a special\nprice for non-subsidised diesel for fishermen with vessels over 30\nGT.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope the government provides a special non-subsidised diesel\nprice for fishermen, set above the subsidised price but below the\nindustrial diesel price,\u201d said Kajidin.<\/p>\n
Kajidin noted that vessels over 100 GT require around 100,000 litres\nof diesel for a voyage. At a non-subsidised diesel price of Rp 30,000\nper litre, that would cost Rp 3 billion just for fuel.<\/p>\n
This cost, he continued, does not include provisions for the crew.\nTypically, they are at sea for about eight months.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the catch is around 100 tonnes. At a fish price of Rp\n22,000 per kilogramme, the revenue obtained is only Rp 2.2 billion.<\/p>\n
Kajidin added that they also hope the government will stabilise fish\nprices. Currently, fish prices cannot keep pace with the costs of going\nto sea, particularly fuel prices.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Suwarto, Chairman of the Karangsong Mina Sumitra Sea\nFishing Cooperative (KPL), said that the number of vessels at Karangsong\nPort totals 600 units. Of these, around 300 are over 30 gross tonnes\n(GT) and use non-subsidised diesel, while the rest are under 30 GT and\nuse subsidised diesel.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of the 300 vessels using industrial diesel, more than 100 have\nnot gone to sea since after Eid al-Fitr. The rest are still at sea, and\nwhen they return, they will face the same problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Suwarto explained that each vessel employs around 15\u201317 crew members.\nTherefore, thousands of crew members are currently unemployed because\nthe vessels are not departing for sea.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/non-subsidised-fuel-price-surge-leaves-thousands-of-indramayu-fishermen-ashore-1777888500", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }