The Minister Of Transportation Said That The Captain Of The Tunu Ship Drowning In The Bali Strait Has Not Been Found

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Dudy Purwagandhi stated that the captain of the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya ship that sank in the waters of the Bali Strait on Wednesday night July 2, had not been found to this day.

"While it has not been found, the captain has not been found," said the Minister of Transportation at the Commission V DPR RI Working Meeting in Jakarta, Tuesday, July 8, which was confiscated by Antara.

The Minister of Transportation conveyed this in response to the question of the Chairman of Commission V DPR RI Lasarus questioning whether the ship's captain was safe, considering his strategic position as a key witness in the marine accident.

Dudy said that until now there have been no reports of the discovery of the ship's captain, while several crew members (ABK) were reported to have managed to save themselves in the incident.

The Minister of Transportation also conveyed that based on Basarnas reports, there were 12 crew members on the ship, and five of them had been found safe by the joint evacuation team.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Commission V DPR RI Lasarus emphasized that the captain was the key witness to find out the main cause of the sinking of the ship on the voyage.

"Because I think the key witness, if we talk about this key witness, is the captain of the ship, this must be the controller of the ship, this is one of the key witnesses. The key witness has not been found," said Lasarus.

"That's right, sir," replied the Minister of Transportation again.

On that occasion, the Minister of Transportation stated that KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya had previously carried out docking and feasibility tests (ramp checks).

The Minister of Transportation revealed that the ship had been docking in October 2024 and was again undergoing the final ramp check on June 3, 2025, before the school holiday began.

Dudy also emphasized that the technical data from ramp checks and docking results did not show any indication of damage or significant interference with the operational feasibility of KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya.

"So, until now, we have received technical data from the implementation of docking or the implementation of the ramp check, there is no indication of damage or anything related to the ship," said the Minister of Transportation.

He explained, according to the procedure, before sailing, the captain of the ship is obliged to report the condition of the ship to the Office of the Harbormaster and Port Authority (KSOP) to obtain a sailing warrant stating that the ship was in seaworthy condition.

"So that's the data that we have and at the time of sailing as a statement from the captain of the ship that the ship is suitable for sailing," he added.

The Minister of Transportation stated that his party is waiting for the results of an official investigation from the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) to reveal the exact cause of the ship accident in the waters which is classified as close to the beach.

KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members and 22 vehicles had a sea accident and sank in the Bali Strait on Wednesday 2 July 2025 at 23.35 WIB.