TERNATE - A ship belonging to PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) which serves the Bitung-Ternate route is reported to have suffered engine damage in waters between Batang Dua Island and Ternate City, North Maluku, Sunday, March 15.
Head of Operations and Standby Section of Basarnas Ternate, Ferdinando when contacted said, based on the report received, the KM Gandha Nusantara 17 ship departed from Bitung to Ternate on Saturday at around 22.00 WIT.
Information regarding the incident was received by the Ternate Search and Rescue Office (Basarnas) from Rudi Arif, a representative of PELNI Ternate, on Sunday afternoon. However, on the way, precisely on Sunday morning at around 08.00 WIT, the ship experienced engine damage while in the waters of North Maluku.
After the damage occurred, the crew of the ship tried to make repairs independently. However, until several hours later, the effort was not successful.
Seeing the condition, the captain of the ship then reported the incident to PELNI. The report was then forwarded to Basarnas Ternate to request search and rescue operations.
He explained that after receiving the report, his party immediately deployed a rescue team to the scene.
"At 12.15 WIT, the Kansar Ternate Rescue Team together with the elements directly involved moved to the scene using the KN SAR 237 Pandudewanata to carry out the evacuation process," said Ferdinando, quoted via Antara.
On the other hand, the KM Sabuk Nusantara 115 ship, which was not far from the location of the incident, tried to pull the ship that was damaged. However, this effort encountered obstacles due to the weather conditions in the waters which were quite extreme.
It is reported that the wave height around the location reached about 2.5 to 3 meters, making it difficult to pull the ship. In addition, the ship that was damaged was also reported to have a tilt of about 20 degrees.
However, until now the condition of the crew of the ship is reported to be still under monitoring, while the evacuation process continues to be carried out by the joint SAR team.
The rescue operation involved a number of elements, including the Ternate SAR Office, the North Maluku Regional Police Directorate of Water and Air Police (Polairud), the Ternate Sea and Beach Guard Unit (KPLP), PT PELNI, and assistance from the KM Sabuk Nusantara 115 which was around the location.
Based on provisional data, there were seven people on board the ship when the incident occurred. All of them are still in the process of being evacuated by the joint SAR team. Until now, the rescue and evacuation process is still ongoing, while the identity of the victims and the ship's crew has not been confirmed.
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