Ship Safety Standards Ignored on Lake Toba

The sinking of KM Sinar Bangun reveals that ship safety requirements have never been implemented in the waters of Lake Toba. The physical condition of many passenger ships is not up to the standards stipulated in the seaworthiness certificate.

AFP PHOTO/LAZUARDY FAHMI

The families of victims still missing in the KM Sinar Bangun accident throw flowers into the waters of North Sumatra’s Lake Toba during a memorial service on July 3, 2018. The previous day, an officer of the Search snd Rescue (SAR) operation announced that efforts to retrieve the bodies of victims who perished when the passenger ferry sank to the bottom of Lake Toba – of one of the world\'s deepest lakes – was being called off.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The sinking of passenger ship KM Sinar Bangun on Lake Toba, North Sumatra, on June 18 reveals that ship safety requirements have never been implemented in the waters of Lake Toba. The physical condition of many passenger ships, which are mostly owned by the local residents, is not up to the standards stipulated in the seaworthiness certificate.

Based on data from the North Sumatra transportation office, at least 400 vessels are involved in the transportation of passengers and goods on Lake Toba. Their physical condition resembles that of KM Sinar Bangun.