Ministry of Transport Audits Four Ship Operators Following Series of Maritime Accidents
The Ministry of Transport (Kemenhub) is conducting a comprehensive audit of the operators of four ships involved in a recent series of maritime accidents. The measure is being taken to assess the level of compliance with shipping safety standards and to determine sanctions for any violations found.
Minister of Transport Dudy Purwagandhi stated that the audit is a rapid government response to evaluate the operations of the shipping companies. “The closest thing we are doing is auditing the four companies to find out to what extent they comply with shipping safety provisions,” Dudy said after a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday (19/8).
Dudy stressed that the audit results will determine the level of fault of the operators. The Ministry of Transport has prepared a range of sanction instruments, from written warnings and route suspensions to the revocation of a company’s operating licence. If criminal elements are found, the case will be referred to law enforcement.
In addition to auditing the operators, the Ministry of Transport highlighted the classic problem of passenger manifest discrepancies. Dudy revealed a loophole in which additional passengers board a vessel after the Sailing Approval Letter (SPB) is issued without being reported back to the port authority.
As a solution, the Ministry of Transport is targeting the integration of the ticketing system with the boarding process into a single real-time data set. “A ship may not be allowed to depart if, up to the time of departure, the final number of passengers has not been confirmed,” the minister stressed.
Supervision will also be tightened through the use of vehicle weighbridges, the digitalisation of dangerous goods declarations, and random inspections of ship stability and safety equipment before departure.
During the meeting, data on the ship accidents was revealed. The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), Soerjanto Tjahjono, added that 64 per cent of fires on roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels originate from the vehicle deck. The KNKT recommends the implementation of regulated agents for the supervision of dangerous cargo and the strengthening of fire patrols in deck areas.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Lasarus, warned the Ministry of Transport to immediately improve the performance of the Harbourmaster and Port Authority Offices (KSOP). He threatened to form a working committee to examine all KSOP offices in Indonesia if the manifest issue is not resolved promptly.