We Asked an Expert Why Indonesia's Ferry System Is So Dangerous
A search and rescue team on Lake Toba. Photo by Beawiharta/ Reuters 

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We Asked an Expert Why Indonesia's Ferry System Is So Dangerous

More than half of all marine transportation accidents in the world happen right here.

Indonesia is still reeling from two tragic ferry accidents in less than a month. The death toll between the two accidents, one on Lake Toba, in North Sumatra, and another in Selayar, in South Sulawesi, is nearly 200 people lost.

These kinds of accidents are far too common in Indonesia. Since the year 2000, there have been 645 accidents aboard ferries and passenger ships in Indonesia that were, together, responsible for 33,000 deaths. That makes Indonesia the deadliest place on Earth to board a passenger boat. It's more dangerous than the Philippines, Bangladesh, and China. In fact, Indonesia is now home to 56 percent of all marine transport accidents, worldwide.

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Part of the reason why is the sheer number of boats operating here. Indonesia is a nation of islands and home to one of the world's largest government-owned ferry fleets. But it also takes a massive fleet of privately-owned boats and ferries to make sure that the country stays connected. And while Indonesia's aviation industry has made tremendous strides in the last decade, the water transportation industry has lagged behind.

Why is the industry so reluctant to adopt stricter safety measures? VICE's Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja spoke with Danang Perikesit, a transportation expert at Gadjah Mada University, to find out.

VICE: Why isn't our water transport system as safe as our air transport?
Danang Parikesit: Even domestic flights must refer to international regulations, which are already good. Like FAA in the US, for example. Things like aviation safety have an international standard. Indonesian airlines' compliance is good as well. And besides, there are not as many airlines in the aviation industry, so it can be managed well.

So, why is it so difficult to manage maritime transport?
The system is so much more complex, be it in the terms of structure or the industrial characteristics. The compliance of water transport operators isn’t as good as in aviation industry either. International ships have to comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO), while we have to comply with national regulations by prohibiting foreign ships from operating in Indonesia. That’s why the regulations and operating procedures are not as strict as the international maritime industry's.

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The types of maritime transport in Indonesia vary wildly too. There are small (small vessels and sailing ships) and large businesses (cruise ships and passenger ships). They operate in the sea and in lakes as well. The government is in difficult situation here. If they make strict rules, then small businesses will stop operating. And there is another thing too, the agencies that handle the water transport are divided into two categories: the directorate general of sea transportation handles sea transport, while lake or river transport is handled by the directorate general of land transportation.

So we would need to shut down small, unregulated boat operators if we want to make the industry safer?
It doesn’t have to be that way. Small industries can merge with others to form bigger ones. And besides, the regulators, like Syah Bandar or the port authority, should work hard to improve their quality. They should be stricter and only allow ships or boats which have complied with the safety standards to operate.

How much of this falls on the regulators?
They can limit the number of allowed passenger per vessel. The regulator can prohibit overloaded ships from departing port.

One of the reasons why the Indonesian aviation industry has gotten so much better is that there's an investigation of every crash. Is it the same thing with ferry accidents? Are they thoroughly investigated?
Actually, we have the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT). They will investigate marine transport accidents so the industry can evaluate the findings and improve their system. But in the last two to three years, the Ministry of Transportation and local governments don’t really use the recommendation from the KNKT. I asked the KNKT about it, and they said the government and ministry only implemented 10 percent of their recommendations.

Does this mean that it's really dangerous to use water transport in Indonesia?
Well, if the recommendations from KNKT were only implemented like they were in the aviation industry, then we could reduce the possibility of accidents like these.

This interview has been translated, and edited for content and clarity.