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Island in focus: Express ferry service canceled after losses
The Cantika Express ferry service has halted its operation to Sabu Island in East Nusa Tenggara, blaming financial losses caused by a rise in fuel prices and urging the government to provide subsidies
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he Cantika Express ferry service has halted its operation to Sabu Island in East Nusa Tenggara, blaming financial losses caused by a rise in fuel prices and urging the government to provide subsidies.
'We are forced to halt the Kupang-Sabu route as we have suffered a loss of Rp 6 billion (US$462,000) for the past year serving the route,' ferry owner Jhony De Quelju told journalists on Thursday.
Quelju attributed the loss to the low number of passengers, which kept revenues below operational costs. At times, a trip only carried between 20 and 40 passengers.
The situation, he added, was worsened by the lack of awareness on the part of passengers to buy tickets at the counter, as they preferred paying on board the ferry and not in accordance with the set fares.
Apart from that, Quelju said his company had further incurred losses because of the increase in fuel prices.
He expressed hope the Sabu Raijua regency administration would be able to help by providing a subsidy so the ferry service could remain operating.
Sabu Raijua Regent Marthen Dira Tome said his office was willing to provide the subsidy. 'So far, we believed everything was going well. When it stopped operating and I called the ferry owner, then we became aware that they were losing money,' said Marthen.
