Ministry Of Transportation Sends KM Belt Nusantara 35 To Help Transport Homecomers In Sampit, Ticket Prices Are Expected To Be Lower

Head of KSOP Sampit Agustinus Maun while giving a statement to reporters at Sampit Harbor / ANTARA

SAMPIT - The Directorate General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) will send one KM Sabuk Nusantara 35 ship to help transport Eid at Sampit Port, East Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan. With the help of this ship, it is hoped that travelers will not be left behind.

KM Sabuk Nusantara 35 is scheduled to arrive on April 28 and depart for Surabaya on April 29. The capacity of this ship is about 238 passengers.

"We hope that the remaining passengers who have not been served by PT Pelni and PT DLU ships can be handled by KM Sabuk Nusantara 35," said Head of the Sampit Harbormaster and Port Authority (KSOP) Office, Agustinus Maun when met by reporters, Antara, Tuesday, April 26.

Homecoming transportation at Sampit Port is served by four ships, namely KM Kirana I and KM Kirana III belonging to PT Dharma Lautan Utama and KM Kelimutu and KM Lawit belonging to PT Pelni. Since the beginning of Ramadan until today, there have been 3,392 passengers who left Sampit and departed for Semarang and Surabaya.

Currently, there are four departures for the Idul Fitri homecoming transportation ship, namely two departures for ships belonging to PT Dharma Lautan Utama (DLU) and two departures for PT Pelni ships.

Passengers are estimated to reach 100 percent of capacity, such as the departure of KM Kirana III to Surabaya on Monday morning.

KM Kirana III which sailed to Surabaya with the number of passengers on board as many as 706 people according to the capacity in the certificate. In addition, this ship carries a cargo of 10 large trucks, 23 private cars and 34 motorcycles.

The peak of the homecoming flow is estimated to occur on April 27 because there are two ships departing for Semarang. The implementation has been prepared regarding the safety and security of shipping and order while at the port.

In accordance with the direction of the Ministry of Transportation, this year there will be no dispensation or additional shipload capacity due to considerations of the COVID-19 pandemic. Level 1 and 2 regions are allowed to use 100 percent capacity, but there is a dispensation during the 2022 Eid transportation.

For this reason, the Ministry of Transportation will send assistance in the form of KM Sabuk Nusantara 35 to transport travelers. The ticket price for this pioneer ship is estimated to be lower than the ticket for a commercial ship.

"We hope that all prospective passengers who will go home to Java can be transported. We hope that the implementation of the 2022 homecoming at Sampit Port can run safely, smoothly, healthily and in an orderly manner," said Agustinus.