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undreds of domestic and foreign tourists are reportedly stranded on Karimunjawa Island, unable to leave the tourist resort because of high waves and strong winds.

The waves were reaching up to 2-2.5 meters in height, while the wind speed was between eight and 16 knots on Friday.

'€œWith such figures, the Jepara waters are not safe for boats to sail. That is why we have refused permission for sea crossings since Tuesday for both motorized and fishing boats,'€ head of Japara Port, Yuniarso, said on Friday.

'€œNot one boat owner wants to go out on the water. This has caused confusion among the tourists,'€ a tour guide, Zamroni, told The Jakarta Post when contacted from Semarang, Central Java, on Friday.

However, after two days of waiting without certainty, many tourists decided to charter fishing boats to return to Jepara. No fewer than 15 boats gingerly ferried passengers to Jepara between Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon.

Karimunjawa district head Nuryanto said the number of tourists who were currently stuck in Karimunjawa was between 800 and 1,000. Dozens of them are foreign tourists.

'€œThey were initially scheduled to depart [the island] three days ago,'€ Nuryanto said over the phone.

Some of the tourists began to panic, according to him, primarily because there was no information post to provide updates on the latest weather developments in Karimunjawa.

He did, however, confirm that food stocks were sufficient for all the stranded tourists. '€œAs soon as the weather is considered safe for sailing, the Muria ferry will depart from Jepara to collect all of the tourists,'€ he said.

Karimunjawa, famed for its reefs, is located in the Java Sea about 120 kilometers north of the provincial capital Semarang, and 80 kilometers northwest of Jepara.

From Semarang, visitors can hop on the Kartini Express, while from Jepara, they can take the Muria ferry, the Cantika 89 Express.

According to the Karimunjawa branch of the Indonesian Tour Guide Association (HPI), around 1,500 tourists visit the island every week.

Meanwhile, bad weather has also affected East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) waters during the past few days, delaying ferry services to various destinations.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) previously issued warnings about the high winds that reached 55 kilometers per hour. These caused high waves of between 3.5 and 6 meters, so all shipping companies were requested to be on extra alert to prevent any accidents.

Operational manager at PT Feri Indonesia'€™s Kupang office, Hermin Welkis, said that due to the temporary stoppage, a backlog of vehicles, especially trucks and buses transporting students, had been queuing at Bolok Port in the NTT capital of Kupang.

On Friday, however, normal service had resumed. '€œAll ferry services are back to normal after the BMKG recorded waves in NTT waters of only 1-2 meters,'€ Hermin said as quoted by Antara news agency on Friday.