Ambon Port is among the top 10 destinations for Nataru, Minister of Transportation strengthens mitigation

JAKARTA - Ports in the Ambon region are recorded as being among the top 10 ports of origin and destinations for people's travel during Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 (Nataru).

The Ministry of Transportation has also strengthened safety mitigation measures, especially to anticipate the potential for extreme weather in the Maluku sea route.

Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi emphasized that passenger safety is the main priority in the service of holiday transportation.

This was conveyed when he directly reviewed the readiness of the Nataru transportation at the Yos Sudarso Port, Ambon, today.

"We have a mandate from the state to serve the community as well as possible, ensuring that our brothers and sisters can travel to their destinations safely and securely and return safely and securely," Dudy said in an official statement, Thursday, December 18.

Although the Nataru transportation is a routine annual agenda, continued Dudy, its implementation should not be considered a mere routine. All service elements must be ensured to run optimally.

"We have to pay attention to small things. There is information related to services, information as small as possible that has an impact on services must be paid attention to properly," he said.

Dudy targets that the implementation of the 2025/2026 Nataru transportation in the Maluku region can run with zero accidents and zero fatalities. For this reason, various mitigation measures have been prepared, especially in the face of the potential for extreme weather that often occurs in the Maluku waters.

"Patrolling the shipping lane needs to be encouraged to ensure that the ship crews serving the line feel safe. Patrols can be carried out alternately, either with Polairud, the Indonesian Navy, or related stakeholders who have patrol boat fleets so that the line can be ensured to be safe, especially related to the weather," explained Dudy.

For information, the Maluku region is one of the largest Nataru travel destinations by sea.

Based on a survey of the potential movement of people during Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026, ports in the Ambon region are among the top 10 ports of origin and destination for Nataru travel.

The peak of the homecoming flow at the Yos Sudarso Port is estimated to occur on December 19, 2025, while the peak of the return flow is projected on January 3, 2026.

To support the smooth travel of the community, as many as 38 ships have been prepared to serve the movement of passengers to and from Ambon.

The total available carrying capacity reached 65,263 passengers during the 2025/2026 Nataru period.