Russian Tanker Captain Falls Ill While Sailing in Merak Waters; Basarnas Evacuates

Basarnas Banten has evacuated the captain of a Russian tanker, Shushkin (41), who fell ill while at sea. The evacuation is ongoing in the Merak waters.

The Banten SAR Office received a report on Saturday, 7 March 2026, at around 15:18 WIB via email from the tanker ELISABETH, with call sign PBQW, which was in the waters off Tempurung Island, Cilegon. They stated that Shushkin had fallen seriously ill.

“In the report, it was stated that at 15:10 WIB one of the crew members, the captain named Shushkin (41), of Russian nationality, suffered a serious illness requiring urgent medical treatment and evacuation by the SAR team,” said Al Amrad, head of Basarnas Banten, Saturday (7/3/2026).

The Russian tanker was located at coordinates 05°52.800’S 105°56.700’E. The point is about 14.65 nautical miles from the rescue vessel KN SAR Tetuka, with a voyage course of 295.08 degrees and an estimated travel time of about 1 hour 20 minutes.

“After receiving the report, at 15:35 WIB the operator team of the Banten SAR Office immediately coordinated with the vessel to determine an intercept point for the evacuation. An agreement was reached at the coordinates determined,” he explained.

The Basarnas vessel KN SAR Tetuka was deployed toward the point with an estimated arrival time (ETA) of 21:38 WIB. The SAR operation involved several elements, including staff from the Banten SAR Office, the Tetuka crew, personnel from the Marine and Air Police Corps (Korps Kepolisian Perairan dan Udara Mabes Polri and Polda Banten), officers from the Class I Health Quarantine Office in Banten, officers from the Cilegon Immigration Office, elements of the Coastal and Sea Guard via the vessel KN Golok 206, and the ship’s agents.

“As of this report, the evacuation process for the casualty is ongoing. The weather at the location is reported to be cloudy, but still conducive to SAR operations,” he said.

(bal/wnv)