Transport Minister Reaffirms Comprehensive Maritime Safety Improvements

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta — Minister of Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi, reaffirmed the Ministry of Transportation’s commitment to conducting a comprehensive evaluation and improving maritime safety systems. He made the statement during a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

“Safety must not only become a concern after an accident occurs. It must be ensured before the ship departs, throughout the voyage, and until all passengers arrive safely at their destination,” he said.

During the meeting, the government presented its response and evaluation of four ship accidents involving KMP Mutiara Sentosa II, KMP Putri Yasmin, KLM Nurul Salsa 01, and KM Prince Soya. Dudy expressed his condolences to the victims and their families.

He said the government’s presence at the meeting with Commission V was a form of accountability and a commitment to improving maritime safety. According to Dudy, safety evaluations must not focus solely on complete documents and compliance with administrative requirements. Inspections must ensure that safety systems are properly implemented and capable of handling emergency situations in the field.

“Complete documents do not mean that we should stop at the administrative aspects. These incidents have become the basis for us to conduct a deeper evaluation of the effectiveness of safety systems on board,” he said.

The evaluation covers fire protection systems, crew preparedness, the condition of vehicles and cargo, access to safety equipment, and the crew’s ability to respond to emergencies. The Ministry is also evaluating the supervision of traditional vessels, manifest accuracy, carrying capacity, safety equipment readiness, departure supervision, and the implementation of safety procedures during vessel maintenance.

He said the Ministry is strengthening accident prevention through several stages, starting from regulations, self-inspections, vehicle and cargo screening, spot checks, and inspections before a Sailing Approval Letter (SPB) is issued. Supervision is also carried out through audits, inspections, ramp checks, operational and seaworthiness inspections, accident investigations, measures against non-compliance, and law enforcement.

“Every finding must be followed up. If a major deficiency is found, the departure must be postponed, or the vessel must not be allowed to sail,” he stressed.

The Ministry is also encouraging greater accuracy in passenger and vehicle manifests by integrating manifest, ticketing, and boarding systems. The system is being developed toward a single data system so that every data change can be updated and validated in real time.

“Going forward, the principle must be clear: an SPB must not be issued if the data has not been validated. When it comes to safety, it is better not to depart than to depart and fail to arrive safely at the destination,” Dudy said.

He added that controlling overloading and over-dimension cargo, ensuring vessel stability, monitoring hazardous cargo, and conducting random inspections before departure are also part of efforts to strengthen maritime safety.

Dudy affirmed that strengthening maritime safety requires consistency and cooperation among all parties, including the government, operators, crews, communities, and other stakeholders.