Passenger liner 'KM Kambuna' showing signs of age

By K. Basrie

ONBOARD K.M. KAMBUNA (JP): After only a decade in service the 13,700-GRT ton Kambuna, once the dream of many Indonesian sea travelers, has turned into an old fractured liner.

Kambuna, which can carry 1,576 passengers, was the second passenger liner ordered by the Indonesian government for the state-owned PT Pelni shipping company to meet the demand for inter-island sea transport.

From the outside, the German ship purchased in 1984 from Germany for about US$40 million, looks like a beautiful, modern, comfortable passenger liner. Inside, however, many features in her well-constructed belly have been badly broken by barbaric passengers.

Designed and built by Yos L. Meyer GmbH & Co. in Papenburg in former West Germany, Kambuna was launched on Feb. 17, 1984, after which she set out for Indonesia. Estimated to have an operating life of at least 20 years, she sails the Medan-Jakarta-Surabaya- Ujungpandang-Balikpapan-Bitung route and back twice a month.

The ship has a clinic, a nightclub, shops, restaurants, bookstores, a conference room, a small mosque, a church and a mini theater.

Since her maiden voyage of March 13, 1984, passengers repeatedly warned other travelers that to enjoy the luxury and comfort passenger ships in Indonesia, you had to sail on the ships within two years of their first trip.

"After that, they will become floating toilets," a knowing passenger warned 10 years ago.

His fears have come true.

Today, the washrooms reek and in most of the four dirty showers, the taps and temperature controls no longer work. Soap wrappers, empty plastic shampoo bottles and toothpaste tubes litter the toilet floors a few hours after the cleaning staff have been through, even though there are trash cans inside each toilet.

Even the soap containers have all been pillaged. Sometimes, passengers leave the wash rooms without turning the water off.

Many toilet and shower stall door locks are totally damaged. Putting underwear or a towel on the door signals to others that the stall is occupied.

The foul smell of the washrooms spreads to other areas of the seven-deck ship through the broken doors.

The passenger cabins, particularly those on the third and fourth class decks, also shock many travelers.

Some of the fire-proof curtains, reading lamps, lockers and air conditioners inside the cabins have been stolen while the others are broken.

Graffiti of different dialects can be found in almost all the 208 passenger cabins of all classes.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Captain Ridwan Iyabu revealed that a score of life jackets have also been stolen from the cabins.

A number of cabin and locker keys have also been stolen, leaving the ship's captain worried about the security of the passengers' valuables. The number of lost items has increased significantly in the past few years.

There is a strong indication that the keys have been copied by the thieves and their syndicates so they can operate in any port. Pickpockets have found promising prey in the crowded meal lines for economic class passengers.

There used to be drinking water taps for the passengers on deck, now none can be seen. Some carpets have also been removed because many of them have been damaged by cigarette butts.

A passenger once activated the ship's orange smoke, which is only used in an emergency to send an S.O.S. to nearby ships.

The hoses and pipes of the fire extinguishers have also been broken or stolen.

The above are examples of what many people describe as a modern tool in an uncivilized community.

"We always consider our passengers to be nice people so that we can do our best to serve them, but ...," Captain Iyabu said without finishing his sentence.

"Moreover, we cannot watch every passenger every second. And everyday we have different passengers coming and going," he added.

In his opinion, vandalism carried out by ill-behaved passengers has nothing to do with their educational background. Many of them are quite well-off, even wealthy.

"I think they are very proud of doing such things," the captain said.

Officer Timang added: "We have no options. Ill-behaved passengers break the thing soon after we repair it."

The water taps, for instance, were once urinated on, Timang explained.

Aside from dealing with passengers' offensive behavior, PT Pelni must improve the service and discipline of the ship's 135 crew members.

Passengers often see uniformed crew strolling down the gangways smoking and the cleaning staff don't do their jobs properly. The kitchen staff provide dirty buckets to passengers who request hot drinking water.

The ship is often overcrowded, causing hundreds of people to flock into the gangways and out-of bounds areas, like under the lifeboats.

Besides that, gangways and cabins are always packed with the passengers' cargo.

"Anyone would be upset to see the current condition of this ship, but it's not too late for PT Pelni as well as the government to control the ill-behaved passengers," commented a passenger traveling between Jakarta and Bitung.

"Traveling in such a ship is like waiting in hell," said another female passenger sailing between Medan and Balikpapan.

Captain Iyabu responds to the criticism with: "We have done our best but still we have to face such bad conditions."

"What we really need is the passengers' to have a sense of belonging to help us take care of this ship," he said.