Minister Says Ship Accidents Not Caused by Budget Efficiency

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has stated that several ship accidents in recent times were not caused by government budget efficiency measures. The accidents involved vessels including KM Mutiara Sentosa II, KMP Putri Yasmin, KLM Nurul Salsa 01, and KM Prince Soya. “I do not think it needs to be linked to budget efficiency. But every accident will be a lesson for us, as input for us in improving various procedures and safety standards that we must implement in our shipping industry,” Dudy said on Thursday (20/8). He added that the maintenance budgets for these vessels are managed entirely by the operators. The government, as regulator, is tasked only with ensuring that stakeholders comply with shipping safety provisions and regulations. “As regulator, we must of course ensure that all stakeholders comply with the provisions and rules relating to shipping safety,” he explained. Dudy stressed that the government will not hesitate to impose sanctions on operators who commit violations. “The various sanctions we can impose include warnings if the offence is minor, up to suspension of route operations or suspension of the shipping company’s operations. We will evaluate this according to the severity of the error made. If a criminal offence has occurred, we will of course refer it to law enforcement authorities,” he said.