TheJakartaPost
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Seafaring nation
The accident highlights the problems with Indonesia’s shipping industry, especially the traditional shipping sector.
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A large wave hits passenger vessel KM Lestari Maju in Selayar Islands, South Sulawesi, on July 3, 2018. (Courtesy of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB)/File)
T
he safety standards of the national shipping industry have again come into the spotlight after passenger boat KM Ladang Pertiwi 2 capsized on May 25 reportedly because of bad weather in Makassar Strait. Thirty-one people were rescued, while one passenger was found dead and 18 others have yet to be accounted for.
The ill-fated boat was on a roughly 260-kilometer journey from Potere Port in Makassar to the remote Pamantauang Island in Liukang Kalmas district, Pangkep regency, also in South Sulawesi.
An initial report said the boat had run out of fuel, while subsequent ones said there had been engine failure when high waves hit the boat, causing it to be inoperable.
The accident highlights the problems with Indonesia’s shipping industry, especially the traditional shipping sector, locally known as pelra, as many crew members and companies do not conform to prevailing regulations.
Sadly, the accident did not receive enough media coverage; seemingly more attention was given to the believed drowning of Emmeril “Eril” Khan Mumtadz, the oldest son of West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, a popular leader and public figure in the country.
Eril was swept away on May 26 by strong currents while swimming in the Aare River in Bern. Local authorities have yet to find him as of the time of printing.
Perhaps the public has become desensitized when it comes to boat accidents, which, unfortunately, frequently happen in the world’s largest archipelagic state.
Nenek moyangku, orang pelaut (My ancestors, are seafarers), so goes a line of in a famous children's song composed by the late Saridjah Niung, better known as ibu Sud, written to teach Indonesian children about their maritime country.
Alas, it seems that is no longer the case.
Even as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched his Global Maritime Fulcrum vision in the campaign for his first term in 2014, not much has changed in the Indonesian shipping sector. Otherwise, accidents like the capsize of KM Ladang Pertiwi 2 would have been greatly reduced.
To be fair, there are so many stakeholders involved in any transportation sector, as dictated in the 5M principle of accident analysis: management, machine, man, media and mission.
There were reports that KM Ladang Pertiwi 2 had not acquired permission to set sail from the port master, nor did it have a manifest of its passengers. Further, it was not known whether the boat had enough life vests or if the crew members were all certified.
Indeed, Indonesia has been working hard to meet all the requirements to ensure safety in the maritime transportation sector, especially those run by private or state corporations. The next challenging job is how to enforce safety regulations at the grassroots level because it is what most people use to get things done in the far-flung reaches of the archipelago.
A careful sociocultural approach is needed to make sure the country’s natural-born seafarers live up to their ancestral skills while meeting modern shipping regulations.
