Sea Tourism Opens, KSOP Still Prohibits Night Sailing in Komodo National Park

Illustration. A number of tourist boats are berthed on Padar Island, in the Komodo National Park (TN) area in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara Province (NTT). ANTARA/Kornelis Kaha.

LABUAN BAJO - The Labuan Bajo City Hall and Port Authority (KSOP) prohibits ship movement at night in the waters of the Komodo National Park (TN), West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, even though tourist cruises in the area have reopened.

Head of KSOP Labuan Bajo Stephanus Risdiyanto said the restrictions were imposed for the safety of shipping, following the extreme weather conditions that had occurred in recent days.

"For the past few days, tourist shipping activities cannot be carried out because of weather information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) which shows high waves," Stephanus said when contacted from Kupang, Friday, January 9.

He explained that thanks to intensive coordination and communication with the BMKG, on Thursday, January 8, more specific weather information for the Labuan Bajo tourist area and its surroundings had been released.

Based on these data, the weather conditions on Friday were declared safe for sailing. Therefore, KSOP decided to reopen tourist sailing activities starting Saturday, January 10, while still paying attention to the terms and conditions as stated in the official announcement of KSOP.

However, KSOP emphasized that the reopening of tourist cruises does not mean that all ship activities are allowed without restrictions.

"The meaning of the night sailing ban is not to move the ship at night, especially in risky points," said Stephanus.

He explained that tourists can still travel by sea in the morning and afternoon. Meanwhile, at night, tourist boats are required to stop and take shelter in a safe location.

For example, tourist boats are not allowed to cross certain routes such as the Padar Strait at night because they are considered to have a high level of risk.

However, Stephanus ensured that the tour package, including a three-day two-night trip, could still be carried out as long as there was no movement of ships at night in the at-risk area.

According to him, the policy of restrictions aims to maintain the safety of shipping, as well as supporting the recovery of the activities of tourism business actors in Labuan Bajo as the weather conditions improve. In addition, this policy also supports the process of searching for victims of the maritime accident that is still ongoing in the surrounding waters.