Basarnas Asserts Search for KM Virgo Transport 8 Victims Follows International Standards
Jakarta, VIVA – Basarnas has ensured that the search operation for the victims of the capsized KM Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea is being conducted based on technical calculations and international regulations.
Consequently, the patterns and sectors for the search do not remain the same every day. The Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Air Marshal Mohammad Syafii, stated that changes to search sectors are made by considering field conditions, including current movements that can alter the search reference points or datum.
“The operations we conduct refer to the fundamental provisions issued internationally. The search pattern is never the same every day because the team adjusts the operation to various field factors,” said Syafii, as reported on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.
On the first day of the operation, the SAR team conducted the search by dividing the area into eight sectors based on predetermined coordinates. Meanwhile, on the second and third days, the search was carried out across six sectors. The location of these sectors may shift following calculation results and developments in field conditions.
This change is necessary because victims carried by currents have the potential to move away from the initial accident site. Therefore, the SAR team must adjust the sweeping areas to increase the probability of finding victims.
Although the search sectors change, the area around the shipwreck remains one of the critical points in the operation. Basarnas is accounting for the possibility of victims being displaced from the ship’s hull following previous search efforts.
“So, I can assure you that the operation will never be the same, especially since we are already utilising applications,” he added.
Syafii also emphasised that all decisions within the SAR operation are grounded in technical and legal foundations. This includes plans to right the vessel or raise the wreckage of the KM Virgo Transport 8.
According to him, every step must consider various factors to ensure the operation remains safe and adheres to procedure.
Basarnas, Syafii noted, also undergoes an annual audit by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Therefore, the execution of search operations is guaranteed to refer to international provisions and a legally accountable basis.
“It does not mean we are trying to follow all sorts of information or suggestions. What we do certainly refers to legal foundations that can be held accountable under the law,” he said.