Antara News·Indonesia·Monday, September 14, 2026 at 05:50 AM

Virgo ferry listed after waves hit starboard side, evacuation underway

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Lintang Budiyanti P, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said the waves hitting the starboard side contributed to the listing of the Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea on Sunday while the vessel was sailing from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

"The captain informed that the vessel's listing was caused by waves striking the starboard side. We received this information directly from the captain during the search operation for the vessel, which had lost contact and subsequently sank," Basarnas Deputy for Operations and Preparedness Edy Prakoso remarked on Sunday (September 13).

Virgo's manifest showed 243 people were on board, consisting of 213 passengers and 30 crew members. The figure serves as the basis for the search and rescue operation.

The 8,540-gross-ton vessel lost contact at around 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.

Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi on Monday informed that the joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team had evacuated 114 victims, comprising of 108 survivors and six deceased individuals.

“A total of 114 people have been found, consisting of 108 survivors and six fatalities,” he remarked during a press conference on the progress of the Virgo Transport 8 SAR operation at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin.

Of the 114 victims evacuated, 86 have arrived at Trisakti Port in Banjarmasin, consisted of 85 survivors and one deceased victim.

He added that the other 28 victims had been evacuated from the vessel and currently in transit to Trisakti Port, comprising of 23 survivors and five fatalities.

“We have received additional resources for the SAR operation from several parties, hoping it will boost the operation’s effectiveness, allowing us to make every possible effort to locate our fellow citizens involved in the accident,” Purwagandhi emphasized.

Meanwhile, the search continues for 129 other victims at the site of the incident.

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