Four Ferry Ships On The Situbondo-Madura Route Are Detained Due To Bad Weather

KMP Munggiyango Hulalo loading and unloading activities at Jangkar Harbor, Situbondo, East Java, the day before being stuck at Kalimanget Harbor, Sumenep. ANTARA/Novi Husdinariyanto

SITUBONDO - A total of four ferry units of the Janger route (Situbondo) to several islands in Sumenep Regency, Madura, have been stuck at Kaliangget Port since Thursday (14/3) due to bad weather waves of three meters and wind speeds in the Madura Strait reaching 50 knots.

Manager of PT Dharma Dwipa Utama (DDU) Maman Surachman said KMP Dharma Kartika and KMP Wicitra Dharma I as well as KMP Munggiyango Hulalo and KMP Dharma Bahari Sumekar III were detained and could not make a voyage because the weather was quite extreme.

"Four ferries are all stuck at Kalimanget Harbor, Sumenep Regency, because since Thursday (14/3) yesterday they have been unable to operate due to bad weather such as the warning issued by the BMKG," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, March 15.

Maman explained that KMP Munggiyango Hulalo, the destination for the Kaliangget-Kangean route, was also detained at Kalianget Harbor because he did not get a sailing permit due to bad weather with waves reaching two to three meters and wind speeds reaching 30 knots.

A number of KMP passengers, Munggiyango Hulalo, are still stuck in Kalianget and staying at an inn in the port area while waiting for the weather to return to normal.

"We chose to postpone not operating and wait for the weather to improve. According to the BMKG circular regarding bad weather forecasts, it will last until March 18", said Maman.

Meanwhile, Deputy Coordinator of the Janger Ferry Port Service Unit, Situbondo, Ahmad Rozikin said that the ferry for the Janger-Buksget, Janger-Raas, Janger-Sapudi and Janger-Kangean routes and vice versa to this day have not been able to operate due to bad weather.

"If the ferry is anchored to several islands in Sumenep Regency, we cannot allow it to sail. The ferry is stuck at Kalimanget Harbor to this day," he said.

Rozikin admitted that the ferry for the Janger-Madura track could not sail because apart from the specifications of the ship being unable to break through the three-meter wave, it also considered that the majority of ships on the track were transporting people.

"Unlike the ferry for the Janger-Lembar route, there are three ships that have specifications capable of hitting waves of up to three meters," he said.

According to a circular from BMKG since Wednesday (13/3) afternoon, the ferry port from Situbondo to several islands in Sumenep, Madura and Situbondo Regencies to Lembar was temporarily closed due to bad weather strong winds and high waves of up to three meters.