Police Name Three More Suspects in KM Virgo 8 Accident Case
Police have named three more suspects in the fatal accident involving the KM Virgo Transport 8, which capsized and sank in the waters off Masalembo in the Java Sea.
Brigadier-General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, head of the Public Information Bureau at the National Police’s Public Relations Division, said the three suspects were employees of PT Virgo Karya Shipping, the company that operates and owns the vessel.
He identified them as LBA, an agent for PT Virgo Karya Shipping; RH, the company’s operations manager; and YR, general manager of its Surabaya branch.
“The suspects were named following the investigation and the construction of the case, which identified suspected negligence, complicity or assistance related to the ship accident,” he said in a written statement on Thursday (8 October).
Trunoyudo said all three had been detained since Monday (4 October) at the South Kalimantan Regional Police detention centre for the next 20 days.
He added that the investigation was not limited to the captain or operational staff. Trunoyudo said the company would also face action if evidence of negligence were found.
“The investigation is not directed only at those directly operating the vessel, but is also examining the involvement of the company if the evidence indicates complicity or assistance in the accident,” he said.
In this case, the suspects face charges under Article 302(3) of Law No. 17/2008 on Shipping and Article 474(3) of the Criminal Code, as well as provisions on complicity and assistance under Articles 20 and 21 of Law No. 1/2023 on the Criminal Code.
Earlier, the National Police’s Security Maintenance Agency formally named the captain of the KM Virgo Transport 8 as a suspect after the vessel capsized and sank off Masalembo in the Java Sea.
Senior Commissioner Kukuh Prabowo, head of the law enforcement sub-directorate of the agency’s Water Police Directorate, said the captain was named as a suspect after the case was transferred from the South Kalimantan Regional Police.
The KM Virgo Transport 8 was reported to have lost contact in the Java Sea at 2am Central Indonesia Time on Sunday (13 September), while travelling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin. It had departed on Saturday (12 September).
The ship reportedly encountered bad weather and lost contact at about 2am on 13 September 2026. It was found later that day, capsized in the waters off Masalembo.
A total of 188 victims have so far been found: 108 survived and 80 died. Another 55 people remain missing, and search efforts are continuing.