Most Merak ferries fail safety standards

Most Merak ferries fail safety standards

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

More than half the ferries sailing from Merak port in West Java
to Sumatra island fail international safety standards.

Taufik Handriawan, chief of the Merak branch of PT ASDP, which
operates river, lake and sea ferry transportation, said that 14
of the 24 ferries were made in 1970 and no longer met
International Maritime Organization (IMO) safety standards.

"PT ASDP has requested the government replace the old ferries
with new ones but ... it has yet to respond," he said.

The comments follow an investigation by the Banten provincial
transportation and communication agency, which found that a ferry
that broke down in Sunda Strait late Wednesday was cased by
diesel fuel mixing with water.

The agency chief, Turmudzi, told The Jakarta Post on Friday
that it would impose sanctions on ferry operator PT SP and the
ship's captain, Abdullah Ali, for being careless in maintaining
the ferry.

He said the case was being sent to the Ministry of
Transportation for further investigation.

The Nusa Setia left Merak port for Bakauheni on Wednesday at
10:30 p.m. with 270 passengers and 70 vehicles on board. However,
it broke down and left passengers stranded for four hours.

The ferry was towed and arrived back at Merak port at 4 a.m.
on Thursday.

However, a broken cargo door meant the vehicles could not be
unloaded for a further seven hours.