Minister affirms sailing permits will not be issued if manifests are unvalidated

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has stressed that a Sailing Approval Letter (SPB) will not be issued if passenger, vehicle, and cargo manifest data have not been validated.

“Going forward, the principle must be firm: the SPB will not be issued if the data have not been validated,” Dudy said during a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Dudy said the Ministry of Transportation will direct manifest management towards a single data system so that any data changes can be updated and validated in real time.

According to him, integration needs to be built between the manifest, the ticketing system, and the boarding process so that the recorded number of passengers, vehicles, and cargo matches the actual conditions on board the vessel.

The ministry will also strengthen the use of individual tickets and identity accuracy so that every person on board is recorded and can be traced, especially during emergencies.

In addition to improving manifests, Dudy said the government will strengthen control over overloading, vehicle dimensions, and vessel stability through the expanded use of weigh-in-motion technology or vehicle scales.

The weighing results will be integrated with the manifest to ensure that the weight and distribution of cargo comply with vessel stability limits.

Supervision of dangerous goods will also be strengthened through the digitalisation of dangerous goods declarations, verification of documents before goods are loaded onto the vessel, and improving officers’ ability to identify dangerous cargo.

The ministry will further increase random inspections before departure, particularly of manifests, cargo, vessel stability, safety equipment, vehicle conditions, and operational compliance.

The ministry’s official presentation stated that the strengthening measures cover 100 percent passenger and vehicle manifests, real-time manifests, individual tickets and identity accuracy, control of overloading and dimensions, supervision of dangerous goods, and increased inspections.

“If critical conditions are found, departure must be postponed until the issue is resolved or the departure is cancelled,” Dudy said.

He stressed that safety must be ensured from before the vessel departs, during the voyage, until all passengers arrive safely at their destination.

“In safety, it is better not to depart than to depart but not arrive safely at the destination,” he said.

The system strengthening is part of the government’s evaluation following four vessel incidents discussed in the Commission V meeting, namely KM Mutiara Sentosa II, KMP Putri Yasmin, KLM Nurul Salsa 01, and KM Prince Soya.

In the same meeting, Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Air Marshal Mohammad Syafii said the problem of manifest accuracy was evident, among other cases, in the handling of the KMP Putri Yasmin fire in West Lombok waters on 12 August 2026.

Basarnas initially received manifest data recording 131 people, consisting of 114 passengers and 17 crew members.

However, the search and rescue operation evacuated 212 people, consisting of 211 survivors and one fatality.

Basarnas also received public reports about five people who had not been found.

After verification, one person was found to have survived and travelled on another vessel, leaving reports of four people still being searched for.

Data in the ministry’s presentation also recorded 212 people on KMP Putri Yasmin, namely 211 survivors and one fatality, while four people were still being searched for based on public reports.

According to Syafii, manifest data dynamics also occurred during the SAR operation for KM Mutiara Sentosa II because Basarnas received several different figures regarding the number of people on board.

“For Basarnas, manifest data is not merely administrative data. The data serves as the basis for determining whether there are still people who must be searched for, who has been evacuated, and whether the search operation still needs to be continued,” he said.

In that operation, 238 people were evacuated, consisting of 233 survivors and five fatalities, as also stated in the ministry’s official presentation.