Bengkulu Port Lane Is Getting More Shallow, Fuel Ship Fails To Sandar And Distribution Is Threatened With Disabilities

The port of Baai Island Bengkulu has a silting effect. (Between)

JAKARTA - Dredging activities at Baai Island Port, Bengkulu, have received attention from various parties due to progress which is considered not optimal. The silting that occurred at the port has disrupted the smooth running of the shipping route, including loading and unloading activities of fuel.

Assistant Deputy for Infrastructure and Logistics at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, Yuli Sriwilanti, said that the silting of the shipping channel had a direct impact on the distribution of fuel by Pertamina Patra Niaga. He warned that this should be addressed immediately.

Moreover, the investigation has been going on for the past seven months, and there are delays in handling it. Pelindo has only handled the silting since June 5, and they are targeting it to be completed in 10 days. Indeed, there is progress, but the natural conditions are indeed difficult. This port is facing the sea, so there must be a special treatment," said Yuli.

Information from Patra Niaga shows that the fuel supply ship has not been able to enter the port of Baai Island because the flow is getting closed.

"We hope this can be handled properly soon. Because economic losses have begun to appear with the delay in fuel supply to Bengkulu which has caused queues of vehicles to fill fuel at several gas stations. The temporary fuel supply is forced to be handled by land," said Yuli.

Yuli hopes that Pelindo will immediately complete the dredging so that the fuel supply ship is not constrained by standard to the Port of Pulai Baai.

The Bengkulu Provincial Government has also directly participated in reviewing the dredging project on Sunday, June 8, 2025, which was carried out by PT Pelindo (Persero) through its subsidiary, PT Rukindo. However, the performance of Pelindo Regional 2, has received criticism from a number of stakeholders, including the Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA) Bengkulu and the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Deputy Chairperson of ISA Bengkulu, Edi Haryanto, who is also a member of the Bengkulu City DPRD, said that the dredging, which began on June 6, 2025, had not produced significant results. He assessed that the work had not shown the expected effectiveness.

According to Edi, the implementation of the dredging project has not been optimal. We see that there are still many technical records in the field that must be evaluated. In fact, this dredging is expected to be a real solution for ship activities, and is not a new problem.

Meanwhile Drajat Sulistyo, Executive Director of Regional 2 PT. Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero), stated that the dredging process itself is currently running according to their target. Currently we have worked day and night to finish this dredging, and we are sure it will be finished as targeted," said Drajat.

The Coordinating Ministry for the Economy again asked related parties to immediately resolve this issue so that the distribution of fuel and other commodities would not be disrupted, considering that Bengkulu Province has a high dependence on this port.