A matter of responsibility

A matter of responsibility

Believe it or not, the police investigation into the sinking of the ferry Gurita off the Aceh coast two weeks ago has brought to light, among other things, the fact that the day before it set off from Malahayati on the Aceh mainland to Sabang, the vessel was leaking. And the leak was patched up with plain cement which was not even completely dry when the vessel began its short but ill-fated journey.

The chief of the Aceh police, Col. A. Hamid Busra, told local reporters the information was obtained from statements of eyewitnesses as well as from photographs taken when workers were "repairing" the leak in the hull of the 25-year-old vessel. The photographs, together with the witnesses' statements will eventually serve as evidence of criminal negligence on the part of the ship's operators.

Unbelievable as it may be, this is merely the latest in a series of irregularities that have come to light after the accident, causing outrage among the victims' survivors and questions from the public about the state of affairs that prevails in our inter-island liner and ferry services, and of the ships' seaworthiness.

Shortly after the disaster Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told the public the ship had just left dock and therefore there should have been no doubts about its seaworthiness. This new police information, however, naturally puts into doubt not only the trustworthiness of the official assurances, but the very workings of our liner and ferry services -- surely an extremely serious issue in a country which is the largest archipelago in the world.

Another major complaint concerns the apparent overloading of the ship with passengers and cargo. In the official report submitted by the local office of the transportation ministry in Banda Aceh to the Minister of Transportation in Jakarta, the ferry was carrying 210 passengers. This figure was based on the list of passengers on the ship's official manifest. Survivors of the accident, however, stated there were at least 320 and perhaps as many as 400 passengers on board the Gurita at the time when the ferry sailed.

This, again, sheds more doubtful light on the official statements. Although officials dismiss the possibility of serious overloading of the Gurita as a cause of the disaster, the truth is that overloading of ferries and other inter-island vessels with both passengers and cargo is a fact of life in this country.

The Gurita disaster naturally brings back memories of the similarly catastrophic Tampomas II disaster which occurred off the Masalembu Islands, off Ujung Pandang several years ago. It was not the first serious sea disaster in our modern maritime history and it probably won't be the last -- unless steps are taken immediately to improve the situation.

It is sad but true that we, Indonesians, are better known for our nonchalance when it comes to acting to prevent accidents that could, though may not, cause loss of human life. We think the time has come for us to develop a greater sense of civic responsibility. In the case of the Gurita ferry accident, a good first step would be to set up a commission to investigate the matter thoroughly and independently. Even if another scandal may be in the making, such efforts will be worth it because it is the progress of the nation and the well-being of our people that is at stake.