Search Operation for Virgo Transport 8 Victims Extended by 7 Days

Basarnas has extended the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the 126 victims who remain missing following the accident involving the Motor Vessel (KM) Virgo Transport 8 for the next seven days. The vessel met with an accident in the Masalembo waters, Java Sea, on Sunday, 13 September 2026.

Basarnas Operations Director, Rear Admiral TNI Yudhi Bramantyo Nur Sasongko, stated that the decision was made after coordinating with stakeholders supporting the SAR operation, as well as the salvage team coordinated by the ship’s owner.

“Today marks the seventh day. We have declared that we will extend this operation for the next seven days,” Yudhi said during a press conference regarding the progress of the SAR operation on the seventh day of the KM Virgo Transport 8 accident, held at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Saturday night.

He explained that two salvage teams coordinated by the ship’s owner only arrived on Saturday and were still conducting meetings and discussions with relevant parties into the night to determine the steps to be taken in the execution of the salvage operation.

“The salvage operation that will be carried out may take a long time, perhaps longer than we imagine. We cannot specify when, but it is clear that it is being discussed by the expert team from the ship owner’s side,” he added.

Basarnas is extending the SAR operation while awaiting the results of the salvage team’s discussions and the steps to be taken in handling the wreckage, ensuring that search and rescue operations can continue according to developments in the field.

During the seventh day of the SAR operation, the joint team did not find any new victims in the search for the KMP Virgo Transport 8 accident.

As of the seventh day of the SAR operation, Saturday night at 21:00 WITA, Basarnas confirmed that 117 victims have been found, consisting of 108 survivors and nine fatalities, while 126 people remain missing out of a total of 243 individuals listed on the KMP Virgo Transport 8 manifest.

KMP Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people while sailing from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, since 12 September 2026.

The vessel was reported to have encountered bad weather and lost contact on 13 September 2026 at approximately 02:00 WITA, before being found later that same day capsized in the Masalembo waters, Java Sea.