Maritime officials named suspects

INDONESIA: Police in Papua named two maritime officials as suspects on Saturday for the sinking of the Boven Digoel passenger ship in the waters of Okaba, Merauke, on July 7.

The two officials in question were the chief of administrator of Merauke Port, Marthen Willem Maryem, and the chief of the port's sailing feasibility section, Baso.

The two were named suspects for failing to check the seaworthiness of the vessel. "The ship was overloaded. They did not check the number of passengers and the cargo weight, so the number of passengers and cargo stipulated on the manifest was in contrast to the facts," said the head of the Merauke Police's criminal division, Adj. Comr. Raden Brotoseno.

According to the manifest, the Boven Digoel was carrying 35 passengers and 16 crew, but witnesses said the ship was packed with over 200 passengers.

Only 16 people survived the accident. Search and rescue teams have recovered 87 bodies as of Saturday. -- JP