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Ministry to standardize Thousand Islands service after Zahro Express incident
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Response: Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (right) and the ministry's sea transportation director, Tonny Budiono, explain to journalists measures that will be taken to handle the KM Zahro Express ferry incident in a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
T
he Transportation Ministry is planning to implement a ferry service to Thousand Islands using vessels owned by state-owned ship operators PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) and ASDP Indonesia Ferry in response to a recent fatal accident involving the KM Zahro Express ferry, which killed 23 people.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said while it was waiting for the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) to investigate the incident, the ministry would take action to prevent similar incidents from happening in future.
“We will improve sea transportation services in Thousand Islands regency by appointing Pelni and ASDP to either replace or compete with private boats operating in the area,” he said after he visited victims of the boat incident at Gatot Soebroto Army General Hospital (RSPAD) in Central Jakarta on Monday.
Budi said the vessels would be ready in three days. “We will also examine all private boats serving routes to Thousand Islands,” he said.
Budi further said only boats that fulfilled safety and service standards would be allowed to operate.
On Sunday, the KM Zahro Express, carrying over 200 passengers, caught fire during its way to Tidung Island, Thousand Islands. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported 23 passengers were killed while 17 people suffered injuries. It further said 194 passengers survived the incident while 17 others were reportedly still missing. (ebf)
