Responding To Queues In Ketapang, Khofifah Indar Parawansa Asks For Additional Ships To The Ministry Of Transportation

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa is trying to handle the long queues that often occur at Ketapang Port, Banyuwangi. He asked the Ministry of Transportation to add ships and activate the Anchor Port as a solution.

"The Governor of East Java has written to the Minister of Transportation to request additional fleets of ships serving the Ketapang - Gilimanuk crossing," said Head of the East Java Provincial Transportation Service, Nyono, confirmed by ANTARA on Sunday, July 27.

Nyono stated that the letter had been signed by the Governor of East Java on Saturday, July 26 evening in Ponorogo, and was immediately sent to the Ministry of Transportation.

"We will send the official letter on Monday, but we have also sent a letter to the Director General of Hubla and the Director of Transportation of the Directorate General of Land Transportation via WhatsApp," he said.

In addition to asking for additional ships, Governor Khofifah, according to him, also asked the Ministry of Transportation to activate an alternative port, namely the Anchor Port in Situbondo, to unravel the density of crossing activities currently centered at the Ketapang Port of Banyuwangi.

"The Anchor Port can actually be used to break down the density at Ketapang Port, but by first sorting out trucks with a 40 tonne down through the Sedaru Pasuruan weight bridge to be missed by the Anchor Port before entering the Baluran Alas, but there must be a deviation of a large capacity ferry from Anchor to Gilimanuk," he said.

According to him, the East Java Provincial Government is not directly responsible for congestion at Ketapang Port.

"But this problem still concerns the flow of logistics and mobility of East Java residents. So, we have to speak up and encourage solutions to come soon," said Nyono.

The management of the Ketapang ferry port is completely under PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Ketapang Branch.

Meanwhile, the shipping safety authority and ship's operational permit (clearance) are under the authority of the Tanjungwangi Harbormaster, Directorate General of Transportation and the Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation.

His party claimed to have contacted the Directorate General of Land Transportation and the Land Transportation Management Center for Region XI East Java-Bali to ask for an acceleration of response to the Governor's letter.

"We have communicated intensely, the letter has been sent, and we continue to encourage immediate addition of ships," he said.

Nyono explained that the long queue at Ketapang Port followed the decline in the number of ships serving the crossing to Gilimanuk after the sinking of KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya on July 2, 2025.

Of the 15 ships that were originally active on the Ketapang-Gilimanuk route, now only six ships are allowed to operate. The decline in the fleet was due to a strict safety evaluation from the Tanjungwangi KSOP shipping authority.

The ships that were previously capable of carrying up to 20 vehicles are now only allowed to carry five vehicles due to load adjustments and the LCT ship's ramp door (rampa gate) length.

Meanwhile, these LCT ships that have been carrying heavy trucks, especially trucks, are more than three axes with a length of more than 12 meters.

"Imagine, from 15 ships to only six operating, and from a capacity of 20 vehicles per ship, now only a quarter is left. This clearly causes long queues," he said.

As a result, there were long queues, especially heavy-tonage trucks, snaking up to tens of kilometers to date.

Conditions were exacerbated because the LCT ship was reduced, the impact was that the heavy truck had to wait for the loading and unloading LCT ship at Gilimanuk port first.

"The solution is that there is a need for a large capacity ship that can operate at the Ketapang port according to the contents of the Governor's Letter to the Minister of Transportation," said Nyono.