SRINAGAR: An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people was reported missing in the Java Sea early Sunday after contact with the vessel was lost amid bad weather, the country’s search and rescue agency said.
The vessel, Virgo Transport 8, had departed from Surabaya in East Java on Saturday for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan when communication with it was lost, according to the agency.
The agency said the ship could no longer be contacted and its location remained unknown at the time of its statement.
Search and rescue teams have been deployed towards the vessel’s last known position as efforts to locate it continued.
Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands, depends heavily on ferries and other sea transport, which are often more affordable and accessible than air travel.
However, safety standards in the country’s maritime transport sector are not always strictly enforced, contributing to a relatively high rate of accidents.
