Passenger Boats in Seribu Islands Asked to Meet Safety Standards

We're going to help relief requirements to the Director General of Marine for Transportation Ministry. For boat owners who want to meet it, they must sign the agreement, and then we will give a deadline for a month to complete

Many passenger boats lining up to get diesel fuel in the Muara Angke Port, causing they difficult to park at the dock port. This is because they should wait for queue of the boats being refueled.

Sometimes, the queue caused boats to wait more than one day. Hence, the passenger boat management hopes the boats could be allowed to park at Kali Adem Dock, Muara Angke Port, Penjaringan. They cannot stop in such dock due to has not met the safety standards yet. 

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Chairman of Seribu Islands Passenger Transportation Association, Abdul Syukur Patah stated as many as 38 boats serve passengers to Seribu Islands from Muara Angke. But every day, there are only three boats operating. "We operate all boats on the weekend due to crowded and three boats on regular day that used to carry 50 people," he told, Wednesday(8/13)

To pick up and drop off passenger, is always conducted through the Kali Adem Dock. Due to many boats are refueled, they had to wait it more than one day.

"We hope our boats could lean into the dock, considering the dock was initially designated to island citizens, instead of tourists," he hoped.

According to him, the boats have not met the safety standards thus they are prohibited to park in the dock. Even, he has been committed and given time to obey the applicable rules.

Head of Facility and Infrastructure Section for Sea Transportation and Port Unit, Kamaru Zaman disclosed that his side would hold a meeting along with passenger boat employers on Friday (8/15). It aims to discuss the rules that must be obeyed by boats to park in the Kali Adem Dock.

"The Muara Angke Dock is indeed dense and each boat must queue between 1-4 days for parking. But they're still required to obey the rules. If not, any errors will be our responsibility," he explained.

All this time, he continued, the boats often ignore the safety factor, like lack of safety facilities and carry passengers in large quantities. Because of that, his side gives the terms and conditions. Among them is building upon the deck does not have to be emptied. Then for the safety tools that must be met are life jackets, boat radio communications, GPS, ring boy (tire safety) and life craft. Then, the boat documents should be valid and passenger capacity must match with the boat letter.

The entire ticket sales must also controlled by Transportation Department's management in order to avoid passenger surge. While for parking, the boat will pay the levy in accordance with Regulation No. 3/2012 on the levy.

"We're going to help relief requirements to the Director General of Marine for Transportation Ministry. For boat owners who want to meet it, they must sign the agreement, and then we will give a deadline for a month to complete," he finished.