Indonesia arrests three ferry executives over deadly Java Sea sinking

JAKARTA: Indonesian police have arrested three executives of the company that owned a passenger ferry that sank in the Java Sea last month, killing dozens of people, a spokesman said Thursday.

The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew when it lost contact after departing from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, on Java island, bound for Borneo.

The Indonesian suspects, who worked for the shipping company that owned and operated the ferry, stand accused of negligence, national police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said in a statement.

"The designation of suspect status is based on the results of the investigation... which identified indications of negligence, complicity, as well as aiding and abetting in connection with the ship accident," he said.

Police arrested the ferry's captain last month.

Dozens remain officially missing in the search operation that has retrieved 108 survivors to date. More than 80 people have been confirmed dead.

Marine accidents regularly occur in Indonesia, a vast Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat connections for daily transport and tourism.

Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are often the cause.--AFP