Overview
- The Virgo Transport 8 departed Surabaya on Saturday morning and lost contact at about 2 a.m. Sunday after its operator reported the ship had encountered bad weather.
- The ship’s manifest lists 241 people aboard and there are no confirmed reports of casualties as the search continues.
- Initial tracking placed the vessel about 148 kilometres from the Basirih Search and Rescue pier in Banjarmasin and authorities dispatched a rescue ship, teams and a helicopter to that area.
- Search coordinators in Banjarmasin say they are mobilising all available personnel and working with maritime agencies while closely monitoring challenging weather at the scene.
- Indonesia relies heavily on ferries for inter-island travel and past lapses in safety enforcement have raised concern about the potential human toll and the likely investigation that will follow.