Evacuation Failed 2 Times During Highest Tides, KM Sabuk Nusantara 108 Deployed To Transport Passengers In Sirimau

Illustration - KM Sirimau ship operated by PT Pelni/ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation has dispatched a quick response team to evacuate the passengers of the KM Sirimau ship which ran aground in the waters of Ipet Island, Lewoleba Waters, NTT since Tuesday, May 17.

This was done following the failure of the KM Sirimau evacuation at the peak of the highest tide. The first was conducted on Wednesday, May 18 at around 01.00-02.00 WITA. Next--still with the highest tide conditions-- at 12.00-13.00 WITA. However, these efforts have not yielded results.

Acting Director General of Sea Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation Mugen S Sartoto said KM Sirimau operated by PT Pelni ran aground on the eastern tip of Ipet Island, on its way from Lewoleba Port to Maumere Port, carrying 784 passengers.

"Through the Lewoleba Port Organizing Unit and Pelni and the Lewoleba Basarnas, they have moved quickly to handle the aground according to the ship's safety management system (SMK) procedure and no ship leaks were found," said Mugen in a statement monitored in Jakarta, Antara, Thursday, May 19.

Mugen said there were no casualties in the KM Sirimau shipwreck incident. Meanwhile, PT Pelni deployed KM Sabuk Nusantara 108 to assist in the evacuation of passengers, who are scheduled to arrive in Lewoleba this Thursday at 18.00 WITA.

The distance between the ship's shipwreck location and Lewoleba Harbor is 8.9 NM or 16.56 km, about an hour's journey.

"We received a report that the movement effort to get off the ground had not yielded any results. We immediately asked PT Pelni to evacuate the passengers who were still on board and take them to the nearest port to be transported by other ship, with guaranteed accommodation and food during the waiting period and continue the journey until to the destination, is entirely the responsibility of Pelni," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Corporate Secretariat of Pelni Opik Taupik apologized for the inconvenience caused by this incident. "Currently, we are continuing to work so that KM Sirimau can run aground," he said.

For the time being, KM Sabuk Nusantara 108 will serve the KM Sirimau route until the ship is successfully removed from the aground position and is ready to be operated again.

The KM Sabuk Nusantara 108 route which is seconded to evacuate KM Sirimau passengers is Kupang-Lewoleba-Maumere-Mananga-Lewoleba-Balauring-Balanusa-Kalabahi.

"To passengers affected by the KM Sirimau crash, we pay attention to the safety, health and comfort of all passengers during the evacuation waiting period. All passengers are healthy and safe," said Opik.

KM Sirimau is one of the Pelni ships with a capacity of 1,000 pax with the route Kupang-Lewoleba-Maumere-Baubau-Wanci-Namrole-Ambon-Sorong-Manokwari-Sorong-Ambin-Wanci-Baubau-Maumere-Lewoleba-Kupang.