T

he recent spate of maritime accidents that have caused the deaths of hundreds of passengers has raised further questions about maritime safety in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic nation.

Earlier this week, KM Lestari Maju was en route to Pamatata Harbor in Selayar from Bira Harbor in Bulukumba regency in South Sulawesi when it began to sink. According to the vessel’s manifest it was carrying 139 passengers. However, as of Wednesday, a search and rescue (SAR) team had rescued 155 passengers, while the bodies of 34 victims had been recovered. The team is continuing its search efforts as it believes the bodies of more victims remain on the vessel. The ferry reportedly had a maximum capacity of 200 passengers.

The accident occurred only two weeks after the ill-fated KM Sinar Bangun capsized and sank in Lake Toba in North Sumatra. Official figures state that 164 passengers remain missing, feared drowned, while three have been confirmed to have died and 18 survived. The ferry was designed to carry 43 passengers. The SAR team discovered the location of the vessel deep below the surface of the lake, but concluded that the available resources were inadequate to retrieve the vessel and the victim’s bodies.

Following the Lake Toba accident, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called for an overhaul of the country’s maritime safety procedures.

Authorities suspect violations of safety procedures had occurred in both accidents.

“We suspect that the vessel [KM Lestari Maju] was carrying more passengers than was stated in the manifest. If proven, the operator’s license will be revoked,” Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Wednesday.

KM Lestari Maju was also carrying at least 18 motorcycles and 14 cars. It is believed that some passengers remained in their vehicles during the voyage and did not have a chance to escape as the ferry began to sink.

Muhammad Yamin Jinca, a transportation planning expert from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, said that many vessel operators, especially smaller ones, ignored standard safety procedures.

“Many of our vessel operators, especially those operating smaller vessels, avoid Indonesia Classification Bureau [BKI] supervision. Because the construction process is not supervised, many accidents are bound to happen as vessel design and maintenance may not follow the proper procedures,” Yamin told The Jakarta Post.

In many cases, he added, operators and harbormasters conspired to gain more profits. For example, harbormasters often allow vessels to sail even if they fail to meet the safety requirements.

The government has pledged to enforce a stricter monitoring system for water-based transportation.

The Transportation Ministry’s Sea Transportation Directorate General secretary general, Arif Toha Tjahjagama, said that while a regulation on safety standards for vessels was already in place, implementation in the field remained problematic.

“We will increase monitoring [of safety procedures] for the regulations that already exist,” he said.

He said the ministry would issue a letter and brief port authority officers on the issuance of sailing permits.

“The weather has not been good, and both passengers and crews need to be reminded of the importance of safety,” he said.

The stricter monitoring will be focused on routes that are served by non-conventional vessels or traditional vessels that are not included in the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, the main regulation on maritime safety.

He said that the investigation of the KM Lestari Maju accident was still ongoing, and that there were many possible causes for the accident.

“It could have been caused by bad weather or the crew, or the passengers, or even the condition of the ferry’s cargo. The investigation is still ongoing,” he said. To date, the ministry has not imposed any sanctions on any officials.

Andi Hajramurni in Makassar contributed to the story