KNKT Data: 46 Passenger Ship Accidents Since 2009, Most Were Fires

The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has proposed implementing regulated agents for sea transport to strengthen oversight of dangerous goods carried by vehicles onto roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries.

KNKT Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said the scheme could adapt the mechanism used in air transport, whereby cargo inspection and sorting are carried out before vehicles enter the port area.

“So regulated agents or freight forwarders outside the port environment that receive packages from individuals or companies will carry out the inspection and sorting,” Soerjanto said during a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to him, officers under the scheme would need to have competence and certification in handling dangerous goods so that the type of cargo and its handling procedures can be identified before vehicles head to the port.

Once the cargo has been inspected, vehicles can be sealed and undergo checks at the port, including X-ray screening.

If dangerous goods are found, the information is conveyed to the ship operator and port authority so that the crew knows the type and how to handle it.

“If the truck is not handled by a regulated agent, it must be inspected at the port and this will take quite a long time and cause stagnation at the port,” Soerjanto said.

The proposal is based in part on KNKT records of 46 Ro-Ro passenger ship accidents during the 2009–2026 period.

Of these, 44 percent were fires, 35 percent capsized or sank, 12 percent were collisions, and nine percent ran aground.

Of the fire accidents, KNKT recorded that 64 percent of the fires originated on the vehicle deck (car deck), while 18 percent each originated from the engine room and accommodation areas.

“So all this time we have found that most Ro-Ro ship fires start on the car deck,” Soerjanto revealed.

KNKT is also still investigating vehicle cargo in the fire investigations of KM Mutiara Sentosa II and KMP Putri Yasmin.

On KM Mutiara Sentosa II, smoke was first seen coming from one of the trucks, but KNKT has not yet obtained certainty regarding the identity of the truck or its cargo.

Meanwhile, on KMP Putri Yasmin, KNKT recorded that the box truck manifest listed 105 items, including motorcycles, mobile phones, air rifles, documents, clothing, and concentrate. However, a number of packages were recorded without adequate descriptions of the type of goods.