ASDP to Resume Pioneer Ferry Operations in NTT

PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) will resume operating pioneer ferry transport services in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) starting Monday, 20 July 2026. President Director Heru Widodo stated the resumption follows an instruction from Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi to the NTT Class II Land Transport Management Office (BPTD) to reactivate the service. He said the company has coordinated with the Ministry of Transport and regulators to ensure all operational aspects are ready. “ASDP is prepared to resume pioneer ferry services in accordance with government directives. For communities in the archipelago, particularly in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions, this service is a vital link for social and economic activities,” Heru said in a written statement on Sunday, 19 July 2026. General Manager of ASDP Kupang Branch Ardhani Friandy said the company has prepared its fleet, crew, and port services to ensure operations can resume in compliance with regulatory requirements. The services being reactivated cover pioneer ferry routes served by ASDP Kupang Branch and Sape Branch, including routes in the Flores, Lembata, Alor, Sabu Raijua, Sikka, West Manggarai, and Waingapu areas. Previously, all pioneer ferry operations within the working areas of ASDP Kupang and Sape branches were temporarily suspended from 1 July 2026. The suspension occurred after the NTT Class II BPTD stated that the regional government lacked the funding basis to pay subsidies to the operator. This was triggered by the unavailability of the pioneer ferry transport subsidy budget from the Second Semester of the 2026 State Budget (APBN). Through a letter dated 30 June 2026, the BPTD requested ASDP to temporarily halt all pioneer ferry services funded by the APBN until further notice. The policy was subsequently forwarded by the NTT Transport Agency to the Provincial Government of East Nusa Tenggara the following week. According to the letter, the suspended pioneer crossings included Labuan Bajo-Waingapu and Labuan Bajo-Rinca Island for routes under the Sape branch, as well as the Kalabahi-Bakalang-Baranusa-Adonara route, the Lewoleba-Solor-Larantuka route, the Sabu-Raijua-Waingapu route, the Kalabahi-Pura Island-Teluk Gurita-Maritaing-Kewapante-Palue-Marapokot route, the Kewapante-Pemana route, and the Kewapante-Besar Island route served by the Kupang branch.