Four Additional Ships Prepared By Pelni Tanjungpinang For The Nataru Holiday

Head of Pelni Tanjungpinang Branch Putra Kencana.(ANTARA/Ogen)

JAKARTA - PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) Tanjungpinang City Branch, Riau Islands Province (Kepri), has prepared four ships to serve passengers during the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year celebrations.

The four ships are KM Sabuk Nusantara which sailed from the Port of Sri Bintan Pura (SBP) Tanjungpinang to between islands throughout Riau Islands, such as Anambas Island to Natuna.

"Then, KM Tidar with the Kijang route, Bintan to Pelalawan to Tanjung Priok, then KM Bukit Raya and KM Lawit who serve passengers from Kijang to between islands in Riau Islands," said Head of Pelni Branch Tanjungpinang Putra Kencana, as quoted by Antara.

Putra said the ships would carry more Christmas and New Year passengers than usual, because they received a passenger dispensation of 30 percent of the total transportation capacity.

He said that KMTidar would bring around 2,800 passengers, while KM Bukit Raya and KM Lawit, each carried 1,546 passengers.

"Everything includes the 30 percent passenger dispensation," he said.

Putra predicts that the number of passengers at Christmas 2024 and New Year's 2025 will increase by 50 percent compared to the previous period, because this year is in line with school children's holidays.

Therefore, his party advised residents who want to go home or take a vacation using the Pelni ship to buy tickets long ago. Ticket purchases can be made online through the PelniMobile application. Pelni is also still serving ticket purchases manually at their office.

"All Pelni fleets are ready to serve passengers ahead of Christmas and New Year. Overall, our ship has also undergone a sailing safety test," said Putra.