KRI Canopus Deployed to Search for Virgo Ship Victims Underwater
KRI Canopus will be deployed in the search for victims of the MV Virgo Transport 8 accident below the sea surface on the third day of SAR operations, Tuesday. The deployment of KRI Canopus came after bad weather hampered the deployment of diver teams on the second day.
“KRI Canopus is en route and will arrive at the location on Tuesday (15/9) morning to support the underwater search using the technology available on the vessel, as an alternative to the weather constraints limiting the deployment of divers,” said Syafii at a press conference on the progress of the second day of SAR operations for the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, as reported by Antara on Tuesday (15/9/2026).
Head of Basarnas Mohammad Syafii said the diver teams prepared consist of Kopaska personnel from the Indonesian Navy, specialist navy divers, and Basarnas personnel. However, the divers could not yet be deployed because weather conditions at the site do not yet permit underwater search operations.
KRI Canopus carries a range of underwater drone technology, a multibeam echo sounder, and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can be used to help detect and map underwater conditions in the effort to find victims and parts of the ship that are the target of the search.
Basarnas said the deployment of KRI Canopus forms part of the strengthening of SAR operations on the third day to expand search capabilities below the sea surface. Nevertheless, diver personnel remain ready to be deployed once weather conditions allow operations to be carried out safely.
As of Monday (14/9) at 22.00 WITA, Head of Basarnas Mohammad Syafii confirmed that 114 victims had been found, comprising 108 survivors and six deceased. Thus, 129 people remain unaccounted for out of a total of 243.
Of the 114 victims found, 86 have arrived at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, comprising 85 survivors and one deceased victim.
A second deceased victim was then evacuated at Syamsudin Noor Air Base in Banjarbaru and handed over to the DVI team of the National Police Headquarters for further medical examination.
Subsequently, one surviving victim arrived at Syamsudin Noor Air Base after being evacuated from the accident site by a Basarnas helicopter, while 26 other victims are still in the process of being evacuated from the location to Trisakti Port, comprising 22 survivors and four deceased.
The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 passengers and was reported to have lost contact in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea on Sunday (13/9) at around 02.00 WITA, whilst sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, having departed on Saturday (12/9).