Batam's ferry operation on strike
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam
At least 1,000 passengers were stranded at Sekupang domestic port and Telago Punggur port in Batam, Riau Islands following a ferry operators' decision to stop services on Thursday.
The strike took place following state oil and gas company PT Pertamina directive which requires ferry operators to buy subsidized diesel fuel only at Pertamina's bunker service instead of their regular gasoline station near the ports.
Halia Maliki, the owner of Surya Gemilang ferry, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the ferry operators providing ferry services from Batam to Tanjung Balai Karimun, Tanjung Pinang, Dumai, Pekan Baru and Kuala Tungkal in Jambi would continue to halt operations until Pertamina reviewed the policy.
He said the operators objected to the policy since it required complicated procedures. One of the procedures, he added, required ferry operators to pay for the diesel fuel through the bank.
"We need diesel fuel fast. How can it work if we have to go through many procedures? Besides, Pertamina announced the policy without any prior warning. They should have told us a long time ago to allow us to make the necessary preparations," Halia said.
Currently, he said, ferry operators have to buy unsubsidized diesel fuel at gasoline stations for Rp 6,000 (60 U.S. cents) per liter while previously, they could get subsidized diesel fuel for Rp 4,250 per liter.
Chairman of Commercial Shipping Association, Amura Zulkifli, said that his association was just informed by Pertamina in Batam that ferries were required to buy diesel fuel at its bunker service on Sambu Island, some four kilometers from Sekupang port.
"We want to buy our fuel at the gasoline station near our port, at the subsidized price," Amura said.
The strike, which involved around 100 ferries, left at least 1,000 passengers wanting to go to nearby islands stranded. Some, who had been at the port since 5 a.m., had to return home since none of the ferries were willing to take them.
"I don't know what will happen next. When they're on strike, it costs us money. The fares from home to the port are almost the same as the price of the ferry ticket, now none of the ferries are operating," complained Ani, one of the passengers who wanted to visit her relatives in Tanjung Balai Karimun.
The ferry operators have increased ticket prices following the government's move to raise fuel prices by 126.6 percent on Oct. 1.
Previously, the price of a ticket for a ferry trip from Batam to Tanjung Balai Karimun costed Rp 40,000, but now, as of Oct. 1, the ticket costs Rp 66,000, while a ticket from Batam to Tanjung Pinang is now Rp 45,000 from a previous Rp 25,000.
Head of Pertamina's office in Batam port, Dani Adriananta, said the policy which requires ferry operators to buy subsidized diesel fuel from Pertamina's bunker service was intended to prevent fuel being smuggled abroad.
The policy, he said, was also based on Presidential Regulation No. 55/2005 on subsidized fuel, citing that Pertamina will distribute subsidized fuel through the bunker service for Indonesia-flagged ships traveling in the country.
"This is the government's policy, we are just implementing it. I also don't want people to be disadvantaged," said Dani.