Ferry Samudra Utama Runs Aground in Gilimanuk, Causing Vehicle Queues to Stretch 1.6 Km

The passenger ferry (KMP) Samudra Utama ran aground at the LCM Pier of Gilimanuk Port, Jembrana Regency, Bali, on Sunday (17/5/2026). This incident resulted in disruptions to loading and unloading activities, triggering long vehicle queues.

The Commander of the Gilimanuk Naval Post, Lettu Laut (P) Yuli Prasetyo, explained that the incident occurred around 12:00 local time. The grounding was caused by a sudden drop in sea level as the ship prepared to depart.

“When it had finished loading and unloading at the LCM Gilimanuk Port and was about to depart, the sea level dropped, causing the KMP Samudra Utama to run aground,” Yuli said when confirmed by detikBali on Sunday.

As an initial effort to reduce the load on the ship, the crew temporarily unloaded some of the vehicles that were already inside. “Some vehicles were unloaded from the ship so that it could be manoeuvred, but this effort was not successful,” he explained.

At 13:15 local time, further evacuation efforts were carried out with the involvement of another vessel. The KMP Agung Samudra XVIII was deployed to pull the grounded ship, but as of this report, the position of the KMP Samudra Utama had not changed.

As a result of the KMP Samudra Utama being held in the pier area, loading and unloading activities at the LCM Gilimanuk Pier were disrupted. This situation was exacerbated by the high volume of vehicles from Bali heading to Java.

“Indeed, it has an impact; vehicle queues have spilled out beyond the port area. The queue reaches the front of the Al Mubarok Mosque in Gilimanuk (approximately 1.6 kilometres),” said Yuli.

Currently, efforts to pull the ship are still ongoing at the scene. In addition to focusing on evacuating the ship, police personnel have also been deployed to the field to manage traffic congestion. Officers are carrying out strict traffic control, especially at the end of the vehicle queue, to prevent more severe congestion.

“Hopefully, it will soon be freed from being grounded so that the flow of vehicles entering and leaving Bali can return to normal,” Yuli concluded.