Thick haze blamed for boat collision off Belawan
Thick haze blamed for boat collision off Belawan
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
The haze from forest fires, which is blanketing several parts of
North Sumatra, has claimed a victim in the province's seaport of
Belawan.
A cargo boat carrying containers from Singapore lost its way
in Medan and ran aground on the Belawan coast after hitting a
dredger, the Flores, amid the thick haze covering the city.
No casualties were reported after the accident took place on
Tuesday evening. However, the propeller of the cargo boat, the KM
Curug Mas, suffered serious damage.
The collision disrupted sea traffic along the Belawan coast
before the ill-fated cargo vessel was towed away some two hours
later.
S. Manik, a human relations officer at state-owned port
management firm PT Pelindo, based in Belawan, told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday that traffic was back to normal there.
He confirmed the accident occurred when sea visibility in the
Malaka Strait was reduced to about 2,000 meters due to the haze
plaguing Medan and its surrounding districts.
A 2,000-meter range of visibility should not affect sea
traffic if the speed of a boat is about 20 kilometers per hour or
six knots, Manik added.
Firman, the head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
based at Medan's Polonia Airport, said visibility in the Malaka
Strait would likely worsen over the next several days as winds
from eastern areas continued to move in slowly, bringing haze
from Malaysia to the waters off the strait and Medan.
He said many hot spots, which were found in southern and
central parts of Malaysia, had spread to almost all parts of the
neighboring country.
The situation could become a serious problem with thick smoke
choking the Malaka Strait, Medan and its surrounding districts,
he added.
He said that based on satellite monitoring, the number of hot
spots was down to 317 from 360 in the regencies of Asahan and
Labuhan Batu, North Sumatra, following a recent rainfall in those
areas.
Firman further said the haze had also sharply reduced
visibility at Polonia Airport to only 800 meters on Tuesday, but
that it improved slightly to 1,000 meters and 2,000 meters on
Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday, visibility there dropped to 1,500 meters, when it
normally is between 7,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
The head of the Polonia Airport Risman Nuryadin said on
Wednesday, however, that planes flying over the city had so far
reported everything was normal.
"There have not been any flight delays despite the reduced
visibility," he told the Post.