T

he National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) on Tuesday discontinued the search for 11 crewmembers of the ill-fated MV Emeline cargo vessel that sunk in waters around the Selayar islands, South Sulawesi, last week.

“Up to the seventh day of the SAR operation, were we unable to locate the 11 crewmembers of the MV Emeline. So, in accordance with SAR procedures, the search mission has been stopped,” Makassar Basarnas head Roky Azikin said on Tuesday.

However, Basarnas is still waiting for information on the possible whereabouts of the missing crewmembers from fishermen and ships passing around the area.

The MV Emeline, which was laden with cement, was destined for Banyuwangi, East Java, from Makassar, but the vessel sank in waters off the Selayar islands, near the border with Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, or around 51 nautical miles west of Selayar.

As the ship sank, its 17 crewmembers, including skipper Ammang Kaso, struggled to save themselves on a lifeboat, but two of them fell into the sea.

On Wednesday, six of the crewmembers were plucked to safety by the KM Mahakam River freighter, which happened to pass the location. It left Makassar for Surabaya, East Java. The nine other crewmembers remained on the lifeboat.

The Makassar chapter of Basarnas dispatched a SAR team to search and evacuate the 11 crewmembers, but its efforts were futile as they were hampered by bad weather, huge waves, strong winds and heavy rain.

A boat accident also took place in East Nusa Tenggara, when a fishing boat sank off Tanjung Sie in Waewole Sea, East Manggarai regency, at around 2 a.m. local time on Monday. The Cahaya Samudera II vessel, owned by Abdul Rasid from Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, and skippered by Hasanudin, was carrying nine crewmembers. No casualties were reported in the accident.

The matter was disclosed to The Jakarta Post by Komba City Police chief Second Insp. Serfolus Tegu on Tuesday.

Tegu said that based on the accounts of the crewmembers, the vessel had been sailing for four months in seek of lobster. The boat was transporting its catch to Sumbawa when the accident took place.

Tegu added that for the time being, the crewmembers would stay at a police officer’s house around Waewole.

Hasanuddin said that there were other vessels in the vicinity, however they were not willing to assist Cahaya Samudra fearing that they would be dragged by the sinking vessels.

Meanwhile, fishermen operating along the coastal areas in Riau province were afraid to set out to sea due to extreme weather, including huge waves and strong winds.

In Indragiri Hilir regency, fishermen have remained idle for the past several days. A fisherman in Kuala Enok village, Tanah Merah district, Darman, said high tides could easily sink fishing boats, which were mostly below 3 gross tons.

“The northerly wind is followed by huge waves and storms. Waves could reach up to 3 meters in the Berhala Strait, compared to the usual 1.25 meters,” Darman said on Monday.

To occupy time, most fishermen in Bengkalis regency repair their fishing gear. Only those using boats of over 5 gross tons are still carrying out activities as usual.

“It’s difficult to catch fish in such conditions, especially fishermen who operate small boats like me. That’s why we don’t set out to sea, but wait for the weather to improve,” one of the fishermen, Faisal, said.

For the sake of fishermen safety, the Bengkalis regency administration has issued a warning for residents to minimize their activities at sea.

“Based on information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, extreme weather, in the form of strong winds and huge waves still have the potential to hit waters off Bengkalis,” said Bengkalis Transportation, Communication and Information Agency head Arman A.A.

Rizal Harahap contributed to this article from Pekanbaru