DPR Member Calls for Total Evaluation of Ship Supervision Following KMP Putri Yasmin Fire
A member of Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Ade Ginanjar, has called on the government to carry out a thorough evaluation of the national shipping supervision and safety system following the fire aboard KMP Putri Yasmin in the waters of the Lombok Strait on Wednesday, 12 August 2026.
The vessel, which was serving the Padangbai, Bali–Lembar, Lombok route, caught fire while underway. According to the latest reports, search and rescue teams successfully evacuated 172 people safely, while one passenger was reported to have died.
Ade assessed that this incident must serve as a serious wake-up call for the government, as it occurred only around ten days after the fire aboard KM Mutiara Sentosa II in the waters north of Sumenep on 2 August 2026, which also claimed lives.
Ade said that the series of ship fires occurring in such close succession should no longer be viewed as isolated incidents. In his view, the government must evaluate whether there are recurring problems in the ship seaworthiness supervision system, technical inspections, engine and electrical maintenance, the readiness of safety equipment, and operator compliance with safety procedures.
“We must not fall back into the pattern of only becoming busy after a ship catches fire. What the government must answer is why such incidents keep recurring and whether the supervision system that has been in place is truly effective,” Ade said in a written statement on Thursday, 13 August 2026.
He argued that passenger safety must be the primary benchmark throughout the entire process of organising sea transport.
Ade also urged the government not to stop at administrative checks or ship seaworthiness documents.
Inspections must ensure that vessels are genuinely safe when operating, including electrical and engine systems, fire extinguishers, lifeboats and life jackets, evacuation routes, carrying capacity, and the crew’s readiness to handle emergency conditions.
In his view, if a ship has been declared seaworthy but then catches fire while underway, the government needs to verify whether the inspection standards applied are sufficiently rigorous and capable of detecting potential risks at an early stage.
The government had previously stated that KMP Putri Yasmin had been declared seaworthy before departure.
He also highlighted the issue of passenger manifest accuracy in the KMP Putri Yasmin incident. The Ministry of Transportation has stated that it will evaluate the discrepancy between the manifest data and the number of people successfully evacuated.