Indonesia faces reckoning over maritime safety after deadly ferry disaster

Indonesia’s latest ferry disaster has exposed persistent weaknesses in maritime safety oversight, experts have said, with poor enforcement and inadequate supervision continuing to leave passengers vulnerable across the sprawling archipelago.

The capsizing of the Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea on Sunday has intensified scrutiny of a system that analysts say too often comes under pressure only after deadly accidents, rather than preventing them.

Six people have been confirmed dead and 129 remain missing after the passenger and cargo ferry capsized amid high winds and rough seas while travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

According to Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, 243 people – 213 passengers and 30 crew members – were aboard the vessel when the captain reported bad weather at about 2am local time on September 13.