Minister to Evaluate Operator of KMP Mutiara Sentosa II After Fire

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi said the government will evaluate the operator of KMP Mutiara Sentosa II once the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) completes its investigation into the ship fire in waters north of Sumenep, East Java.

Speaking in Surabaya in the early hours of Monday, Dudy said the evaluation will assess the operator’s performance, given that the vessel has reportedly suffered two fires.

“We will conduct an evaluation, but the most important thing is to first look at the causes identified by the KNKT. This is a lesson learned for us and a basis for evaluating the company concerned,” he said.

Beyond the evaluation of the operator, the Ministry of Transportation is still prioritising the reconciliation of manifest data with the number of victims successfully evacuated, as some rescue vessels have yet to arrive at Tanjung Perak Port.

According to Dudy, the discrepancy between manifest data and conditions on the ground is partly due to passengers cancelling their journeys without the manifest being updated.

In addition, five children were found to be unrecorded on the manifest, which will serve as a point of evaluation for the ferry operator.

He stressed that recording all passengers is essential to guarantee the rights of victims in the event of an accident, as well as to ensure the availability of safety equipment, including life jackets for children.

Dudy added that the process of matching the manifest with the number of evacuated victims is still ongoing to ensure all passengers have been identified.