Concerned About Ship Fire, KNKT Holds FGD In Tegal

JAKARTA - The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recorded as many as 483 incidents of Indonesian fishing boat accidents in the period 2018 - 2021. According to KNKT Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono, this must be addressed immediately considering a large number of accidents and fatalities.

KNKT assesses that the number of accidents on fishing vessels from year to year has not decreased, even increased. To suppress fatalities and follow up on the results of the previous Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in Pati, November 17, 2021, KNKT again held an FGD. This time it was titled "Implementation of a Safety Management System as an Effort to Prevent Ship Fires at Fishing Ports" which was held in the city of Tegal, Thursday, August 4.

Tegal was chosen as the FGD location because this city has a large fishing port. Thousands of fishing vessels go back and forth in this port every month, according to a release received by VOI on Friday, August 5.

He questioned the actions of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) to improve the safety of fishing vessels and reduce the number of fishing boat accidents. The NTSC has provided safety recommendations to the KKP since 2014, but the KNKT recommendations have not yet been followed up or are still open.

The FGD, which was also held online through a zoom meeting and attended by relevant agencies and parties outside the City of Tegal, is expected to be an illustration and knowledge so that it can be applied in their respective regions.

The Mayor of Tegal, Dedy Yon Supriyono, who was present at the event, assessed that the implementation of the KNKT FGD in Tegal City was very appropriate, considering that Tegal City is a coastal area that has potential in the fisheries and marine industry. There are so many fishing boats that dock and sail from the Port of Tegal.

He explained that at certain times the Tegal City Fishing Port would be crowded with fishing boats anchored. "Especially when it comes to Eid al-Fitr, the port is full of fishing boats. The ships were docked close to each other. If there is a fire on one ship, the risk of striking another ship is quite large", said the Mayor of Tegal.

There aren't any yet

The findings of the NTSC in the field show that navigational equipment on board such as the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) has not been optimally implemented and has become a standard requirement. Before sailing, make sure to get weather information from BMKG. Is the fishing boat capable of sailing in these weather conditions?

KNKT requested that the KKP be able to identify the problems that exist on fishing vessels to determine the mitigation so that it is hoped that there will be fewer fishing vessel accidents. effective and efficient measures to prevent fires.

The Tegal City Government cannot work alone in overcoming these problems. Synergy and collaboration from various parties are required. "The Tegal City Government invites all parties related to this problem to jointly devote their thoughts, energy, and also costs, to realize the management of prevention and control of ship fires at the Port", said Dedy Yon Supriyono.