KMP Dorothy Kandas, Ministry Of Transportation Ensures All Passengers Are Safe

The evacuation process of KMP Dorothy at Merak Port (doc. Public Relations of the Ministry of Transportation)

MERAK - Dorothy KMP Ferry had an accident in Merak waters, to be precise at the entrance channel of Merak Port, Banten. The Ministry of Transportation confirmed that the accident was suspected to be due to negligence of the captain and crew.

"At that time the ship was waiting for orders to enter with the engine moving slowly, while waiting for the KMP. Raputra Jaya 888 docked at the dock 3. However, due to the red buoy condition, it was not visible, so the ship was dragged to the left and ran aground to the red buoy," explained the Director General of Land Transportation, Budi Setiyadi in his statement, Thursday, February 25.

The incident occurred at around 20.00 WIB. The ship departs from Bakauheni Port to Merak Port.

The ship was successfully towed to the dock at around 00.45 WIB using a tugboat. The total number of passengers was 48 people and the cargo of the ship at that time, including 4 units of motorbikes, 5 units of private vehicles, 4 units of medium trucks, 6 units of large trucks, 4 units of tronton, 2 units of trailers, were successfully evacuated.

"KMP. Dorothy was successfully evacuated at 00.45 WIB and immediately directed to the port V of Merak Port to unload and conduct a dive inspection this morning," said Director General Budi.

Director General Budi explained that there were no fatalities in the incident. He hopes that in the future all ship operators and officers will be more careful and always check the weather conditions.

"It's good to continue to anticipate bad weather and most importantly we must always prioritize passenger safety in carrying out transportation services," he concluded.