Indonesia Ferry Overturns in Java Sea
Monday, September 14, 2026202 words3 minutes1733 reads
Indonesian authorities expanded a search-and-rescue operation after the passenger ferry Virgo Transport 8 overturned in the Java Sea on Sunday. The ferry was travelling from Surabaya, on Java, to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, on Borneo. Its manifest listed 243 people: 213 passengers and 30 crew members.
The captain reported rough weather during the early hours of Sunday. Before contact was lost at about 2 a.m., he said the vessel was beginning to tilt. Rescue officials reported waves of around three metres, and the ship's last known position was roughly 150 kilometres from Banjarmasin. The circumstances that caused the accident remain under investigation.
Early reports described the ferry as sunk. However, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said a rescue helicopter observed it floating upside down. By Sunday evening, teams had accounted for 113 people: 107 survivors and six deaths. About 130 people remained missing. A tanker operated by Pertamina rescued 16 people, including the captain, while other passing ships also recovered survivors.
Basarnas, Indonesia's national search-and-rescue agency, deployed ships, a helicopter and aircraft. Rough seas complicated the operation. At Trisakti Port, relatives waited for information. Ferries are essential transport across Indonesia's more than 17,000 islands, but the country has had serious ferry accidents before.
