Captain of KM Virgo Transport 8 Found Safe and Under Questioning After Ship Capsized
Jakarta, VIVA – The captain of KM Virgo Transport 8, which capsised in the waters of the Java Sea, has been confirmed to have been found safe. He is currently undergoing questioning to provide testimony regarding the tragic incident.
Deputy Minister of Transportation Suntana said the captain is one of the 114 people who have so far been found in the search and evacuation operation.
Of that number, 108 people were found alive, while six others died.
“As for the captain, he is safe and is currently being questioned,” he said, quoted on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.
Suntana has not yet explained in detail the substance of the questioning of the KM Virgo Transport 8 captain. The questioning is being carried out to gather information related to the ship’s capsising in the Java Sea.
Meanwhile, Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Air Marshal Mohammad Syafii, confirmed that the emergency radio transmitter, or EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), belonging to KM Virgo Transport 8 remains active.
According to Syafii, the EPIRB signal is being monitored by several monitoring stations, including those in Australia and Singapore.
“So the ship’s emergency transmitter, I can confirm, is active. For aircraft there is an ELT, for ships it is an EPIRB, and for individuals it is called a PLB. So I can confirm the ship’s EPIRB is active, and it is being monitored — by Australia, Singapore, as well as the MEOLUT or LEOLUT at Basarnas,” he said.
KM Virgo Transport 8 was previously reported to have lost contact in the waters of the Java Sea on Sunday, 13 September 2026, at around 02:00 Central Indonesian Time.
The ship was known to have sailed from Surabaya to Banjarmasin since Saturday, 12 September 2026. There were a total of 243 people on board, comprising passengers, crew and staff.
Of the total 243 people, 114 have been found. Meanwhile, the other 129 are still being searched for by the joint SAR team.