Virgo Ship, Previously Lost Contact, Located; Basarnas Evacuates Hundreds of Passengers

Basarnas has reported that a joint SAR team has successfully evacuated 103 individuals from a total of 243 passengers on the Virgo Transport 8 vessel, with one person reported dead.

The Head of the Class A Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, I Putu Sudayana, acting as the SAR Mission Coordinator, stated that the 103 individuals were evacuated using three ships deployed in the search for the Virgo Transport 8, which had previously lost contact in the Java Sea waters.

“A total of 103 passengers had been successfully evacuated as of 12:00 WITA,” said I Putu Sudayana during a press conference regarding the progress of the SAR operation for the Virgo Transport 8 in Banjarmasin on Sunday (13/09/2026).

He provided further details, noting that the TB Mauhaw IX evacuated 16 people, consisting of 15 survivors and one fatality, while the TB TCP evacuated 38 people, all of whom were in safe condition. Meanwhile, the MV Haida evacuated 49 people, all of whom were safe, bringing the total number of passengers successfully evacuated from the Virgo Transport 8 to 103 as of the SAR operation update on Sunday afternoon.

I Putu stated that the 16 individuals evacuated by the TB Mauhaw IX would be taken to Tuban Port as per the information from the vessel’s captain, whereas the passengers evacuated by the TB TCP and MV Haida would be directed to Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin.

The SAR operation continues to involve joint elements, including the TB Mauhaw IX, TB TCP, MV Haida, KN SAR Laksamana, KRI Nala, and KM Kunyit, to support the search and the handling of passengers from the Virgo Transport 8, which lost contact in the Java Sea while sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin with 243 people on board last Saturday (12/09/2026).