Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 11/25/2009 10:19 AM
Following the recent ferry tragedy in waters off Karimun regency, Riau, the House of Representatives Commission V on transportation plans to establish a special committee to oversee mass transportation safety.
The ship, known as the Dumai Express 10, sank on Sunday. So far, Transportation Ministry officials have not released the death toll, but search and rescue officials said at least 26 people were believed to have been killed, while 232 others were rescued.
Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Pudji Hartanto said the doomed ship was overloaded with passengers. He said 292 passengers were on board the ferry when it capsized, much more than the ship’s maximum capacity of 268.
Based on a report from the Karimun regency search and rescue command, quoted by Antara, 22 of the ship’s passengers were still unaccounted for.
“The commission truly regrets the high rate of fatal accidents that are mostly caused by transportation operators’ recklessness and ignorance,” the commission chairman, Taufik Kurniawan from the National Mandate Party (PAN), told a press conference at the House in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.
“When it comes to water and sea transportation, most of the accidents are related to passenger overload. Therefore, we are going to call on the government to provide clarification into the Dumai Express tragedy, especially why the boat was given Port Clearance [SIB] to sail in the first place,” he added.
“We are also going to establish a committee of inquiry, whose main job will be to oversee whether transportation operators truly implement the standards stipulated in the Transportation Law package, which consists of four laws – the 2007 Law on Train Transport, the 2008 Law on Water Transport, the 2009 Law on Air Transport, and the 2009 Law on Traffic,” he said.
Despite saying the committee would principally aim to reform the character and integrity of transportation operators, Taufik said that, in the case future accidents, the committee would not force the resignation of any operators or their superior officers.
“We will leave that to their respective institutions,” he said.
Taufik also promised that the committee would work in a very transparent manner, and the public would be given full access to its investigations and findings.
“We are also going to oversee inspections of transportation facilities, whether by the transportation ministry or by ourselves,” he said.
Taufik also said the commission demanded the government to improve coordination between its related institutions dealing with the number of fatalities incurred by the Dumai tragedy.
“We see a lot of conflicting information regarding fatality rates being circulated among the public. This is not the first time such confusing information has spread to the public. The government needs to provide better coordination to ensure the proper integration of information among its institutions,” he said.
Boat accidents have killed hundreds of people in recent years across the country. In January, around 230 lives were lost after a ferry capsized during a cyclone off the coast of western Sulawesi. In December 2006, a crowded boat broke apart in the Java Sea during a violent storm, killing more than 400 people.
