Indonesian passenger ship with 243 onboard loses contact; one dies, 103 evacuated

INDONESIAN rescuers launched a search operation on Sunday after authorities lost contact with a passenger ship carrying 243 people in the Java Sea, officials said. According to the latest reports, the rescue agency said some 103 people were evacuated from the Indonesian ship earlier reported missing at sea.

Here's what we know so far about the incident

1. The passengers were travelling from East Java to South Kalimantan province. The passenger and cargo ship Virgo Transport 8 departed from Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday before running into bad weather and losing contact with its shipping company early on Sunday.

“The ship’s operator reported the incident to authorities after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather,” said I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Search and Rescue Office, in a video briefing.

2. The Search and Rescue Office in the city of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, which is located on Borneo Island, said it received a report two hours after contact was lost with the Virgo Transport 8 at about 2 am Sunday.

3. The vessel's last position was detected in the waters of the Java Sea, around 150 km (90 miles) from its destination, Banjarmasin pier, I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, said.

4. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Sudayana, who is coordinating the search, said authorities were mobilising all available personnel and assets because the vessel was carrying a large number of passengers and crew.

Sudayana was quoted by AFP as saying, "We have received the report regarding the loss of contact with the Virgo Transport 8 vessel and have immediately deployed personnel and KN SAR Laksmana 241 to the estimated last known position."

"Considering the relatively large number of passengers and crew on board, we are optimising coordination with all relevant elements to accelerate the search process and ensure the safety of all passengers and crew," Sudayana said.

He said the agency was coordinating with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies in the search, while closely monitoring weather conditions in the area.

5. As many as 103 people were evacuated, one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official told Reuters.

Marine accidents a regular occurrence in Indonesia

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries as a key mode of transportation, with sea routes ⁠more ​affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, ​safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, resulting in a relatively high accident rate.

On Monday, a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists working for local and international news agencies, went missing near a volcano, Mount Anak Krakatau, in Banten province and a search is ongoing.

The journalists were sent to cover the volcano's eruption that paralysed Jakarta's main airport and several others.

Last month, a fire on board a ferry killed one person and left five others missing while 211 were rescued in the Lombok Strait off Indonesia's Bali island.

The ferry had been heading from Bali to Lombok when it ran into trouble in the early hours of August 12.

In July, a ferry transporting more than 70 people sank while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.