Indonesia Launches Search for Passenger Ship Missing in Java Sea

Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation on Sunday after a passenger ship carrying 241 people lost contact while travelling through the Java Sea from East Java to South Kalimantan on Borneo island, officials said.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, said it received a report that the Virgo Transport 8 had experienced a communication failure during its journey from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, to Banjarmasin.

Initial information showed that the vessel’s last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometres (92 miles) from a pier in Banjarmasin. According to the ship’s manifest, 241 passengers were on board.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries following the loss of contact.

Arianto Ardi, operations chief at Banjarmasin’s rescue agency, confirmed that authorities had lost communication with the vessel and said rescue teams had been sent to the area where the ship was last located.

“We have established an operations post at Trisakti,” Arianto said.

The rescue agency is coordinating efforts to locate the vessel and establish contact with those on board. Details about the condition of the ship and its passengers remained unclear as the search operation got under way.

Authorities said the ship’s operator reported the incident after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather while travelling across the Java Sea.

Bad weather can create difficult conditions for passenger vessels operating in Indonesian waters, particularly across open stretches of sea. Rescue teams were therefore dispatched to the reported location to determine whether the weather contributed to the communication failure or affected the vessel’s progress.

The incident has prompted a response from Indonesian search and rescue authorities as officials work to establish the ship’s exact position and assess the situation on board.

The Virgo Transport 8 was travelling on a route connecting Surabaya in East Java with Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. The Java Sea separates the two areas and is a busy maritime region used by passenger and cargo vessels.

Officials had not provided further information about the ship’s condition, the nature of the communication failure or whether it had suffered any mechanical problems. Authorities were also working to determine whether the vessel remained in the vicinity of its last known position.

The search operation was continuing on Sunday, with rescue personnel using the information available from the vessel’s last reported location to guide efforts to find the ship and its passengers.