Basarnas Reveals Virgo 8 Vessel Tilted and Requested Emergency Assistance

The Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Mohammad Syafii, stated that the Virgo 8 transport vessel experienced a tilt after being hit by bad weather while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin in the early hours of Sunday (13/9).

Syafii noted that the vessel had reported facing poor weather conditions to the company from the outset.

“A few hours later, it was reported that the ship’s condition experienced a change in the centre of gravity, resulting in a tilt,” he said during a press conference on Sunday (1s/9) afternoon.

“At that time, a broadcast was sent out indicating that the ship required assistance,” Syafii added.

Furthermore, Syafii explained that the vessel had also activated its emergency signals to request help.

The Virgo vessel was reported to have lost contact at approximately 02:00 WITA after encountering severe weather. Basarnas Banjarmasin received the report at around 04:10 WITA.

By 04:30 WITA, the SAR office had deployed teams and equipment for search and rescue operations. However, travelling from the office to the vessel’s last known location required approximately six hours.

The Banjarmasin SAR office also reported the incident to the Basarnas headquarters. They subsequently declared an emergency condition to all users of the Java Sea traffic to ensure more assistance could be received. As of now, the search and rescue operation is still ongoing.

As of 17:00 WITA, the team has evacuated 113 victims, including six deceased individuals. The cause of the vessel losing contact and subsequently tilting will be investigated at a later date once the evacuation process is complete.