Indonesian ferry capsizes in Java Sea leaving 130 missing
An Indonesian passenger and vehicle ferry has capsized in the Java Sea after encountering severe weather, leaving approximately 130 people missing.
An Indonesian passenger and vehicle ferry has capsized in the Java Sea on Sunday, according to ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos, leaving approximately 130 passengers and crew members missing.
The incident began when the vessel encountered rough conditions while navigating from Surabaya, located in East Java, toward Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province on Borneo Island. According to the CBS News report, the ship's captain issued a distress message reporting that the ship was listing before communication failed. The Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office received a report of the emergency two hours after contact was lost around 2 a.m. Local time on Sunday.
Media additions
Official manifests state that the Japanese-built vessel was carrying a total of 243 individuals, comprising 213 passengers and 30 crew members, alongside 89 vehicles. However, local maritime experts and officials note that passenger counts frequently differ from official manifests across the Indonesian archipelago. The ship had departed from Surabaya on Saturday morning and was scheduled to arrive at its destination on Sunday afternoon.
Search and rescue operations quickly scaled up as authorities deployed multiple assets to the vessel's last known position, situated roughly 148 kilometers or 92 miles from Banjarmasin. Differing accounts emerged regarding the physical state of the ship itself. While initial reports from the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office indicated that the ship had sunk, ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation noted that Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi clarified via helicopter reconnaissance that the vessel had flipped and was floating upside down.
| Metric | Banjarmasin SAR Office Reports | Alternative Official & Outlet Reports |
|---|---|---|
| Rescued Survivors | 107 rescued (via Herald Bulletin) / 103 evacuated (via ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation) | 113 evacuated (via ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |
| Confirmed Fatalities | 6 bodies recovered | 6 dead |
| Missing Persons | About 130 missing | About 130 missing |
| Vessel Status | Initially reported as sunk (via Dw) | Floating upside down / not sunk (via CBS News) |
Rescue teams faced challenging conditions, battling waves of up to 2.5 to 3 meters while coordinating across multiple agencies including the Indonesian Navy, local police, and port authorities. The Batesville Daily Guard reported that the rescue deployment expanded to include eight vessels—among them four navy ships—and two helicopters by Sunday afternoon, supported by nearby tugboats and passing commercial vessels.
Anxious relatives crowded into a command center set up at Banjarmasin's Trisakti port on Sunday to review passenger lists and check rescue status updates. Among them was a local resident who spoke to reporters about finding her family member's name.
"I was shocked when I saw my uncle’s name on the passenger list. But I felt relieved after officials told me he had been rescued."
Bunga, Relative of passenger, via ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
Maritime transport safety remains a critical concern throughout Indonesia, an island nation spanning more than 17,000 islands where ferries serve as an essential and affordable mode of travel. Critics frequently point to inconsistent safety enforcement as a contributor to regular maritime disasters. Sunday's accident follows a series of recent regional tragedies, including a ferry fire near Bali last month that required the rescue of 211 people, alongside another passenger ferry fire off Java that resulted in multiple fatalities.
Authorities have announced that search efforts will continue around the clock as teams comb the Java Sea for the remaining missing passengers and crew.
