Tourist Boat Sunk in Labuan Bajo, Sailing Permit Declared According to Procedure
JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi said that the permission to sail the pinisi ship that sank in the waters of Padar Island, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), was given according to the applicable procedures.
Dudy said the permit was issued by the Labuan Bajo City Office and Port Authority (KSOP) based on official weather information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
"So our weather has been conveyed, if it is extreme, of course we will prohibit it. In the Labuan Bajo incident, when a sailing letter was given, the weather conditions were quite conducive for sailing," said Dudy in a Nataru Transportation press conference, in Jakarta, Wednesday, December 31.
On the day of the incident, continued Dudy, the port authority issued around 186 sailing permits. Of the hundreds of ships, one ship experienced an incident due to a sudden change in wave conditions at a certain point.
"It's just that there was one boat at a point where the wave conditions suddenly changed. So, that's what happened," he said.
Dudy said weather information from BMKG became the main reference in determining whether or not the shipping activity was allowed. As the potential for extreme weather increases, the KSOP Class III Labuan Bajo decided to temporarily close shipping activities to Padar Island and Komodo Island.
The temporary closure was carried out as an anticipatory measure to maintain the safety of shipping, especially in the midst of high tourist activity during the Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 (Nataru) holidays.
Dudy also reminded shipping business actors, especially traditional ships and tourist ships, to comply with all directions and policies issued by port authorities.
"So, whether the sailing is applied or not, we refer to weather information from BMKG. And we have proven this by issuing directions in Labuan Bajo when the weather is not suitable for sailing," said Dudy.