Joint SAR Team Deploys Helicopter to Search for Missing Vessel in Anambas

The joint SAR team in Anambas Islands Regency, Riau Islands Province, has deployed a helicopter to broaden the search for KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan, which has been reported missing in local waters. Natuna SAR Office Head Abdul Rahman confirmed on Tuesday that the aerial asset was deployed on the second day of the search operation to accelerate the scanning of the area where the vessel is believed to have disappeared. The team conducted aerial monitoring at four search points along a Matak-search area-Matak route to support the second day of the SAR operation for KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan. He explained that the aerial monitoring used a Sikorsky S-76C++ PK-PUW helicopter owned by PT Medco Energy International Anambas and operated by Pelita Air Service. In addition to the air effort, the SAR operation is also being conducted via sea using a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) 02 Natuna. However, the SAR team has yet to find any signs of KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan or its four crew members. The Natuna SAR Office recorded that KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan is a 10 Gross Ton cargo vessel that departed from Air Sena, Tarempa, bound for Batam on Saturday carrying a cargo of fish. The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Batam on Sunday but had not made contact by Monday, prompting the SAR operation to be launched on the day the report was received. The four crew members are Samsul Bahri (54), Azan (41), Awang (65) and Handay Yadi (40). The SAR operation involves the Anambas SAR Post, Tarempa Naval Base, Anambas Islands Regency BPBD, Tarempa SROP, Anambas Islands HNSI, and aerial support from PT Medco Energy International Anambas. Abdul Rahman stated that weather conditions during the search were relatively favourable, with winds blowing from the south at around 12 knots, visibility reaching 10 kilometres, and cloudy skies. He stressed that the search will continue by optimising all sea and air assets until the whereabouts of KM Samudra Jaya Kelautan and its crew are known. He also urged fishermen and sailors transiting the Anambas waters to report immediately if they discover any signs of the missing vessel.