Sulawesi Island News

Indonesian authorities are considering two companies’ requests to dispose mining waste into the ocean, a senior government official said on Sunday, at a time of heightened sensitivity about the environmental impact of mining.The requests come as mining waste management is increasingly scrutinized after a nickel plant in neighboring Papua New Guinea spilled red mud into the sea last year due to an operational failure.Indonesia was a major nickel ore exporter until last year, before…

An estimated 18 people were rescued and one was confirmed dead from among about 80 passengers aboard a ferry that sank on Monday in Lake Toba in Indonesia's North Sumatra province, a disaster agency official said.The Sinar Bangun ferry sank in rough weather at around 5:30 pm (1030 GMT) about a mile from the port of Tigaras, carrying passengers from the lake's Samosir Island, Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPT) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.Nugroho added that search and rescue efforts had involved two other ferries and one wooden boat had been hampered by weather conditions in the area on Monday night.It was not immediately clear if any of the missing passengers were foreigners.Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, a vast archipelago, especially during the Islamic holiday of Eid when

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced plans to open a shorter shipping route between the Philippines and Indonesia, a move meant to strengthen trade relations between the two neighboring countries, reported  Manila Times. The maiden voyage scheduled on April 28 will originate from Davao City, the hometown of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Agricultural products will be among the first batches of cargo to be transported on the new shipping route, the trade department said. It is expected to generate savings of up to USD1,500 (PHP75,000) per twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) creating revenue for local businessmen and the government.

Indonesian rescue teams continue their search todau (Monday) for 78 people still missing at sea, after their ferry ran into bad conditions, took on water and sank near Sulawesi island on Saturday night, officials said. Rescuers have pulled put 39 survivors and three dead from a passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and were battling bad weather Sunday to reach others still missing. Hopes are fading for 78 people still missing from a ferry that sank off Indonesia's eastern island of Sulawesi, officials say. The New Marina (Marina Baru), a fiberglass boat, was carrying 109 passengers and 10 crew members as crossed the bay on Saturday afternoon, from Kolaka, in Southeast Sulawesi province to Siwa, in South Sulawesi province.

Dozens of people with life jackets were found floating in Indonesia's Gulf of Bone on Sunday, some clinging to a fish trap, after abandoning their ferry in rough seas off Sulawesi Island, said officials, adding that two passengers had died. Fishermen found four people alive in a fish trap and took them to hospital in the town of Siwa on Sulawesi island, the head of the local rescue team, Roki Azikin told Reuters. A transport ministry spokesman said another 21 people were later found at sea. "(The boat) may be upside down now," Azikin said. "Other passengers are still out in the sea wearing life jackets and we're evacuating," he added. The ferry left the southeastern side of Sulawesi on Saturday morning and was heading across the Gulf of Bone for South Sulawesi, transport ministry said.

Military Sealift Command's Singapore-based Sealift Logistics Command Far East changed leadership as Navy Capt. Jim Romano relieved Navy Capt. Susan Dunlap. The change of command ceremony, held near SEALOGFE's headquarters office at Sembawang Wharves, was the command's first since it moved to its current location from Japan in July 2006. Dunlap, SEALOGFE's first Singapore-based commodore, led the charge to establish a permanent MSC footprint on the city-state island nation. SEALOGFE operates an average of 50 ships in the eastern Pacific and Indian oceans, delivering fuel and supplies to U.S. Navy forces at sea, transporting military cargo between ports, responding to humanitarian crises and conducting other special operations.

One of the world’s least known boat building areas is in and around the city of Samarinda on the Mahakam River in the province of East Kalimantan on the Indonesian side of the Island of Borneo. While some yards are building a dozen and more boats at a time in modern facilities, the tradition of building on the riverbank is alive and well. One such builder is Mr. Suwandi who, in mid-February, was preparing to launch a 28 by 8.1-meter tug for Mr. Syarifuddin who operates a stone quary at Palu on Sulawesi Island. The tug, registered in Samarinda and named Syarasd I, is powered by a pair of in-line six-cylinder Cummins KTA19 engines each generating 600 hp and turning propellers manufactured by Tesco in Jakarta through Twin Disc MG5321DC gears with 6.39:1 ratios. Pt.