Antara News·Indonesia·Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 03:36 PM

Basarnas deploys ROV technology to inspect sunken Virgo 8 ferry

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Tumpal Andani, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) is using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to obtain visual images of the sunken Virgo Transport 8 ferry, helping divers navigate the vessel as they search for victims.

I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Class A Search and Rescue Office and the SAR Mission Coordinator, explained that the ROV is being used to navigate the vessel's passageways, with the resulting images serving as a guide for divers conducting the search.

"Following the ROV survey, divers proceeded based on the ROV's findings. The ROV navigated the ship's corridors," he said during a press conference on the search and rescue operation at Trisakti Port, Banjarmasin, on Sunday.

Sudayana said the ROV's initial deployment was not fully effective due to strong underwater currents, forcing the team to retrieve the equipment. Diving operations were also hampered by currents that intensified to around three knots, posing significant risks to divers.

"Once we had the ROV imagery, and during a lull in the currents earlier this afternoon, the Basarnas Special Group (BSG) dive team seized the opportunity to conduct a dive. Time was limited, so only one victim was located and recovered, having already died," he said.

The agency plans to deploy the ROV earlier on the ninth day of the operation, Monday (September 21), hoping for improved weather conditions that will allow divers to continue the search for victims inside the wreckage.

On the eighth day of the SAR operation, Basarnas deployed various assets, including a helicopter, eight large vessels, and two small boats, to maximize the search for the remaining missing victims.

Meanwhile, the salvage operation, including the raising of the vessel's hull, remains the responsibility of the company and its insurance provider, Sudayana said.

As of Sunday, monitoring showed that the shipwreck remained in the same position. Weather conditions, strong underwater currents, and waves continued to hamper search and recovery efforts for victims of the Virgo Transport 8.

To date, Basarnas has confirmed that 118 people have been located, comprising 108 survivors and 10 fatalities. Meanwhile, 125 people remain missing out of the 243 individuals listed on the ferry's manifest. Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 243 people from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on September 12, 2026.

The vessel reportedly encountered adverse weather and lost contact the following day before being found capsized in the waters off Masalembo in the Java Sea.

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