House Commission V to Summon Ministry of Transport Over Fatal Ferry Fire

House of Representatives Commission V will summon the Ministry of Transportation in response to the fire aboard KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 in the waters north of Madura. The hearing is scheduled for 19 August.

“This is a picture of weak government oversight of shipping safety,” Commission V Chairman Lasarus said on Wednesday. He stated that the fatal fire, which resulted in passenger deaths, is the government’s responsibility, as the authority to permit a vessel to sail rests with the state.

Lasarus noted that the commission has repeatedly reminded the Ministry of Transportation about the importance of pre-departure ramp checks but that insufficient budget allocation has hampered these inspections. “We have reminded them time and again, but it has not been implemented. The correlation is the lack of an adequate budget for ramp checks,” he said.

He also highlighted a discrepancy in the passenger manifest, noting that the number of people on board exceeded the official count. “How can the KSOP (Harbourmaster and Port Authority Office) allow a ship to sail when the manifest data does not match the number of passengers?” Lasarus questioned, calling for a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire.

In addition to the Ministry of Transportation, the commission will summon the National Transportation Safety Committee, the port operator, and the vessel’s service provider. Meanwhile, the National Search and Rescue Agency confirmed that a swift emergency broadcast from its command centre prompted seven nearby civilian vessels to assist in the evacuation despite adverse weather conditions.