The House Of Representatives Urges The Audit Of The Safety System In The Aftermath Of The Sinking Of The Tunu Ship In Ketapang-Gilimanuk Waters

DPR-MPR Building. (Dino Januarsa-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission V DPR RI, Irine Yusiana Roba Putri, urged a thorough audit and evaluation of passenger shipping and safety surveillance, following the sinking of the Passenger Motorboat (KMP) Tunu Pratama Jaya in the Bali Strait. In fact, this incident is the third time in the last two weeks.

This is not just a single incident, but a systemic signal from the poor management of our shipping safety. Within 11 days, three ship accidents occurred on the same track. There is something very wrong in our system, whether it's from the technical side, loading, weather, or even relaxation of supervision," said Irine, Friday, July 4.

"Three consecutive accidents on the vital route for the Java-Bali crossing must be a stern warning of how important it is to improve our shipping safety system," he continued.

Irine assessed that the fact of the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya incident which showed that the very short time lag between reports of emergency conditions and the sinking of ships did not provide sufficient space for early evacuation.

"As ship operators are allowed to sail without a solid early warning system and accurate meteorological data, we are playing with human life," said Irine.

"In the shipping safety system, there should be no room for tolerance for data ambiguity and procedural negligence," added the legislator from the North Maluku electoral district.

According to Irine, the repeatedly sinking of ships in the Bali Strait also shows that the shipping safety system on the Java-Bali vital route is still weak.

In addition, according to Irine, one of the crucial issues that is often overlooked by serious evaluation is the inaccuracy of manifest data and confusion of information when ships sail, which has the potential to trigger safety risks.

"When the passenger manifest system and the payload are inaccurate, the operator may ignore the safe load limit, and at some point it triggers a disaster," he said.

Irine also highlighted the possibility of ship technical factors, including stability, hull structure, to the feasibility of emergency equipment. However, he also emphasized that the weather factors and strong currents of the Bali Strait, which are known to be extreme at night, must be the main consideration in evaluating shipping permits at night.

Therefore, Irine asked the Ministry of Transportation and related agencies to immediately conduct a technical audit of the entire ferry fleet in the Bali Strait. Including in-depth inspections of safety standards, crew training, and firmness in enforcement of departure SOPs.

Tidak cukup hanya respons tanggap darurat. Negara harus hadir lebih awal dalam bentuk pengawasan, peringatan, dan pencegahan," pungkas Irine.

As is known, KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank on Wednesday night, July 2, carrying 53 passengers, 12 crew, and 22 vehicles. Six people were declared dead, while 30 people have not been reported.