Ship carrying 850 sinks off Central Java

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A ship carrying around 850 passengers sank in a storm off Central Java, an Indonesian commander said Saturday, adding that he feared many people had died.

Navy Commander Col. Yan Simamora said the "Senopati" went down at around midnight Friday while en route from Sumarang on Central Java to the port of Kumai on Central Kalimantan province.

Rescue workers had found only nine survivors.

"So far, the rescue team, using helicopters and ships has been searching for other passengers, but limited visability and bad weather is hampering the rescue," he told El-shinta radio. "Because of the high waves and wind, I'm afraid many have died."

Who owns the ship? Pelni ?

I'm not sure. They said it sank 12 hours ago and the seas are rough. So far they've only found 9 survivors. I fear they won't find many more. This may be a bigger disaster than the Java tsunami. :(

omg that's horrible :(...

hope they find more survivors

Just read the news at detik.com. Dont think the ship belong to Pelni. However, detik said only 200 people on board.

I hope so.

Now The Age Australia claims 500 people on board. The news is confusing.

Ferry carrying hundreds sinks near Java
By NINIEK KARMINI, Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A ferry carrying hundreds of passengers sank in a storm off Indonesia's main island of Java and nearly all were still missing 12 hours later, officials said Saturday.

The "Senopati" went down around midnight Friday en route to Sumarang on central Java from the port of Kumai on Borneo island.

Slamet Bustam, an official at the Semarang port, said waves of up to 15 feet had crashed over the ship's deck around midnight Friday. It was carrying 850 people, he said.

The passenger manifest listed 542 people, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said.

Ships in Indonesia often carry far more passengers than reported, making it hard for authorities to say with accuracy how many people are on board.

Local media put the number of passengers at between 200 and 600.

"The rescuers have been unable to reach the location and we are afraid many have died," Bustam told The Associated Press.

More than 12 hours after the accident, rescue workers in ships and helicopters had found only nine survivors, stranded on a nearby island, he said.

Navy Commander Col. Yan Simamora also said there were only nine survivors.

"So far, the rescue team, using helicopters and ships has been searching for other passengers, but limited visibility and bad weather is hampering the rescue," he told Indonesia's El-shinta radio. "Because of the high waves and wind, I'm afraid many have died."

Two warships were searching the area, hindered by poor visibility.

The boat ran into trouble 24 miles off Mandalika island, which is about 190 miles northeast of the capital, Jakarta.

Earlier Friday, a different vessel carrying around 100 people capsized in bad weather off the coast of northwestern Sumatra, killing 31 people, Radjasa said Saturday

Sea accidents are common in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, where boats are the main way to reach many islands. Safety measures are often poorly enforced and many craft lack sufficient safety equipment.

Hard rains triggered flooding and mudslides earlier this week that so far have killed 146 people in Indonesia and another 12 in neighboring Malaysia. Some 500,000 people have been displaced.

At least 163 other people remain missing in the flooding. Officials fear more deaths will stem from Saturday's storm.

overloaded again ?

I dont want to open another thread... : Adam Air with 96 people on board is lost during flight from Surabaya to Manado. No news up to now. Read it at detik.com: http://www.detiknews.com/indexfr.php?url=http://www.detiknews.com/index.php/detik.read/tahun/2007/bulan/01/tgl/01/time/192027/idnews/725653/idkanal/10

RyoChan.. u from manado right? I hope none of ur family member on that flight..

wahh.. hope this year is not full of man made natural disaster :(

Adam air discussion moved here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=224391&page=11

wahh.. hope this year is not full of man made natural disaster

What else is new? :D

I like Gluttony better.. sounds nasty

oh great now you tell me :ohno:

The ships is due of the bad weather but the adam air crashed is another story eventhough they said its bad weather too....it needs to be re-check again....yes the weather has been very awful this past few days in the northern sea but...you never knows.

my condolonces to the victims in the ferry ships.....

cheers

my condolances to the victims from both disasters.

my condolences also to all the victims. hope this year we'll have less disasters: man made and mother nature's

Jumat, 19 Januari 2007 13:48:00
Tiga KRI Menuju ke Utara Pulau Mandalika Cari KM Senopati

Surabaya--RoL-- Sebanyak tiga kapal perang TNI AL, yakni KRI Pulau Rengat, KRI Layang dan KRI Leuser bergerak menuju ke arah utara dari Pulau Mandalika, Jateng untuk mencari bangkai KM Senopati Nusantara yang tenggelam.

"Hari ini (Jumat, 19/1), tim penyelam dan prajurit Kopaska bersama tiga KRI itu mulai menyisir lokasi area empat di 34 mil utara Pulau Mandalika," kata Kadispen Komando Armada RI Kawasan Timur (Koarmatim), Letkol Laut (KH) Drs Toni Syaiful kepada ANTARA di Surabaya, Jumat.

Ia menjelaskan, penyisiran di lokasi baru dilakukan setelah TNI AL meminta keterangan dari Muallim II KM Senopati Nusantara yang selamat, M Hatta. Ia memberikan petunjuk tentang tenggelamnya kapal yang membawa 628 orang itu.
Menurut dia, TNI AL mencatat ada delapan titik penyelaman yang diduga sebagai lokasi tenggelamnya KM Senopati Nusantara. Namun dari beberapa kali penyelaman, TNI AL hanya menemukan bangkai kapal tua yang sudah lama tenggelam dan banyak ditumbuhi tiram. "Kalau di area empat belum ada titik terang, maka penyelam TNI AL akan bergerak ke utara lagi hingga 60 mil dari Pulau Mandalika," katanya. Sebelumnya TNI AL juga meminta keterangan nahkoda KM Senopati Nusantara, Wiratno mengenai kemungkinan lokasi kapal. Namun dari penyelaman yang dilakukan tidak ditemukan hasil.

Kondisi Wiratno sendiri, menurut Kadispen, saat ini masih belum stabil. Karena itu ia belum bisa memberikan kepastian apakah dalam satu minggu ke depan, Wiratno sudah bisa dikeluarkan dari Rumah Sakit TNI AL (RSAL) Dr Ramelan atau belum. "Kayaknya belum bisa keluar karena kondisinya saat ini masih naik turun, tapi semua itu merupakan otoritas dokter yang menangani dia kapan bisa keluar," katanya. Antara/SR