At least six people died on Sunday after an Indonesian Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) ferry capsized in the Java Sea, with rescue teams racing to find 130 people who are still missing.
In its latest update, Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, Basarnas, confirmed that 107 people were also rescued after the Virgo Transport 8 (IMO: 8625179) capsized on its way from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.
Local media reports say that the Ro-Ro ferry, which had been carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew members, was hit by bad weather at about 2:33 AM (local time) on Sunday. Tidal conditions in the Java Sea also worsened by then, with waves reaching 3m in height.
This had led to it losing contact with the mainland and sinking approximately 80 nautical miles (NM) away from the Basirih SAR dock in Banjarmasin.
According to local search and rescue chief I. Putu Sudayana, just before it lost contact, the Indonesian-flagged ship's captain had reported to its owners that the vessel was "tilting", an AFP report said.
"It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 metres long, is at great risk," he said about the dangerous rescue operations that are currently underway to find the 103 missing people.
However, it was the Mauhau (IMO: 9664055), an Indonesia-flagged tanker operated by PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, that first received news of the accident via VHF radio and then responded by heading to the site.
16 people, including the captain of the ferry, were evacuated onto the tanker, one of whom sustained a leg injury and is being treated by the crew of the Mauhau.
Several other vessels joined the tanker, such as the Several other vessels, including a tug named the TCP 205 and Haidar, also joined the rescue effort.
Sudayana added that his office received the emergency report only two hours after contact was lost, after which he immediately dispatched a rescue team towards the ship's last known position.
"We responded quickly to the incident report ... Our main focus and top priority at this time is the safety of everyone on board the ship, and we are deploying a coordinated rescue operation," said Heri Purwanto, the head of the Banjarmasin Sea Port Authority, to AFP.
