Java-Madura power cable damaged again

JAKARTA (JP): One of two underwater cables transmitting power supplies from Java to Madura island broke on Tuesday after a boat dragged it with its anchor off Gresik port, East Java, a Surabaya port official said on Wednesday.

Spokesman Marzuki of the Tanjung Perak seaport in Surabaya -- which supervises the Gresik port -- told The Jakarta Post the incident took place at 3 a.m on Tuesday. He said a vessel owned by PT Pengerukan Indonesia, named Anoman VII, dropped its anchor in the restricted Madura Straits zone, a location where state- owned electricity company PLN had buried its power cables.

The vessel then dragged the anchor, causing it to break, he said.

"The vessel was guided to the area by the (Gresik) port's tug boat," Marzuki said.

Informed sources at PLN's East Java distribution office in Surabaya said a team of technicians from PLN and the Gresik port managed on Wednesday to separate the anchor from the cable.

"The incident did not affect power supplies to Madura, as PLN can still send power supplies to Madura through another cable," a PLN official said.

The incident took place only two months after PLN finished repairing the two Java-Madura power cables damaged on Feb. 19 this year in a similar incident.

The Singapore vessel Kota Indah dropped its anchor in the cable zone and broke the cables by dragging them with its anchor.

The incident cut all power supplies to the island and forced the population of three million to live in darkness for two months.

The island has no power plant and is dependent on power supplies from Java transmitted through four-kilometer cables.

The blackout paralyzed Madura's industries and brought an abrupt halt to nightlife on the island. Doctors said the blackout would likely increase the island's birth rate.

Repairs on the cables were completed by London-based British Insulation Cable Company (BICC), which manufactured the cables and installed them in the Madura Strait 13 years ago.

Repair work cost PLN Rp 55 billion (US$6.5 million).

PLN has filed a lawsuit with the owner of Kota Indah -- Singapore's Pacific International Lines -- demanding Rp 150 billion in compensation for its losses.

The case is currently being heard at a district court in Surabaya. (nur/jsk)