Sumatra News

Rescue teams searched waters in central Indonesia on Wednesday for 24 fishermen missing since their boat sank at the weekend, with hopes kept alive by the discovery a day ago of 11 survivors who had been floating at sea for three days.The boat with 37 crew went down on Saturday near Selayar Island off South Sulawesi province, according to the search and rescue agency, with 11 survivors in life jackets spotted by fishermen only on Tuesday. Two other crew were found dead."We just received the report of the boat sinking from those who survived on Tuesday…

Indonesia is looking to offer more oil and gas blocks in North Sumatra basin this year following a major discovery by Mubadala Energy in a bid to accelerate gas production, a senior energy ministry official said on Tuesday.The energy ministry is currently reviewing potential energy blocks for auction this year, director general for oil and gas Tutuka Ariadji told reporters."North Sumatra basin is one of the potential area for further exploration after a major discovery recently in Layaran-1 by Mubadala Energy," Tutuka said.United Arab Emirates' Mubadala said in December it had discovered a maj

China’s saber-rattling around Taiwan underlines the need for Australia to be prepared for conflict in the South China Sea.With its growing navy and air force, and the bases it has built throughout the area, China is increasingly capable of disrupting shipping lanes crucial to Australia’s exports and imports.Chinese military bases across the South China Sea (© OpenStreetMap contributors)Of particular concern is our reliance on liquid fuels imported via South China Sea shipping routes. This reliance has become more pronounced over the past few decades as all but two local refineries have closed.

Indonesia's navy seized two tankers carrying crude palm oil, palm olein, and methanol for what it said were permit and paperwork violations, in an operation, conducted a day before a palm oil export ban took effect, it said on Thursday.MT World Progress violated vessel specifications in its travel document, while the other ship, MT Annabelle carried methanol without a permit, said the navy, which has been deployed to enforce the export ban, which took effect midnight Wednesday.MT World Progress was traveling from Dumai on Sumatra island towards India carrying 34,854.3 tonnes of palm olein, whi

Indonesia deployed navy ships and hundreds of personnel on Wednesday, including intelligence assets, in an effort to thwart illegal shipments of refined palm oil olein, just hours away from an export ban aimed at taming surging cooking oil prices.The new rules were due to take effect at midnight local time (1700 GMT), and the navy and other agencies had been instructed to step up patrols of Indonesian waters to ensure compliance, said navy spokesperson Julius Widjojono.Palm oil futures on the Malaysia exchange surged by 9.8% on Wednesday…

Indonesia will allow a boat packed with Rohingya which had become stranded off its coast to dock in the Southeast Asian country, its security ministry said on Wednesday, after calls from aid organizations to allow the vessel to seek refuge.Local officials in Aceh, a province on the western island of Sumatra said on Tuesday that they would provide the roughly 120 passengers on board with food, medicine and water, but would not allow them to seek refuge in Indonesia, despite international pleas to do so."Today…

For a week the world was gripped by the extraordinary sight of a massive container ship that had run aground in the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Ever Given is 400m long (1,312ft) and weighs 200,000 tonnes, with a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers. It was carrying 18,300 containers when it became wedged in the canal, blocking all shipping traffic. Efforts to free it finally paid off when it was partially dislodged in the early hours of Monday 29 March. Adejuwon Soyinka asked maritime…

From weather predicting apps to using artificial intelligence to monitor the fish they catch, small-scale fishermen and coastal communities are increasingly turning to digital tools to help them be more sustainable and tackle climate change.Overfishing and illegal fishing by commercial vessels inflict significant damage on fisheries and the environment, and take food and jobs from millions of people in coastal communities who rely on fishing, environmental groups say.In addition…

The number of ships fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to more than double by 2030, driven by the shipping industry's desire to cut emissions, a senior executive at Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said on Wednesday.Currently, less than 400 out of a total of more than 80,000 registered ships, run on LNG as fuel source. This number could increase to 1,000 vessels globally by 2030, said Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli, head of global LNG bunkering at Petronas Marine.The shipping industry has been under pressure to reduce carbon emissions…

Pirates attacked a South Korean-flagged cargo ship in the South China Sea early on Monday, stealing thousands of dollars in cash and even the sailors' shoes, South Korean authorities said.Two people sustained minor injuries when seven pirates boarded the CK Bluebell and made off with $13,000 and belongings including mobile phones, clothes and shoes from the 22-strong crew, officials from the oceans and fisheries ministry said.Tougher policing has made piracy less frequent on the strategic shipping route in recent years.The dry bulk vessel CK Bluebell had set sail from its anchorage off Singapore on Saturday afternoon, heading northeast for South Korea's port of Incheon, Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data showed.Korean officials said the ship was sailing normally after the robbery.The incid

China's Ministry of Transport has raised its security recommendation for Chinese vessels in the Malacca Strait, a major potential bottleneck for global oil, to the highest level, according to a notice dated July 2 sent to shipping companies.The level for Chinese vessels passing through and going to the strait was raised to "3" as of 10 p.m. on July 2 (1400 GMT), according to the notice, whose authenticity was confirmed by an official at the ministry.It said shipping firms "should…

At least 17 people, including four children, died after a motorboat sank in choppy waters off the Indonesian island of Java, a government official said on Tuesday.The 10-meter (33 ft) wooden vessel with 57 people on board was hit by high waves off Sumenep in East Java province on Monday, said Tholib, a spokesman for the search and rescue agency.Rescue teams saved 39 passengers and are searching for one missing person, he added.Indonesia, a vast archipelago, has a patchy transportation safety record, with frequent ferry accidents often caused by overcrowding.Last year, an overcrowded ferry with more than 200 passengers sank in Lake Toba in Sumatra. Eighteen people survived and nearly 200 are thought to have drowned in one of the world's deepest volcanic lakes.Reporting by Tabita Diela

The smart terminal solutions provider Konecranes has received another order for the delivery of an Automated RTG (ARTG) System to PT Prima Terminal Petikemas, a subsidiary of state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Persero).The ARTG system on order includes 12 ARTG cranes with associated software, interfaces and services, said a press release from the company.The 12 ARTGs will be delivered in January 2020 to Belawan Container Terminal, Phase 2 in Medan, North Sumatra. They will be identical to those already delivered to PT Prima Multi Terminal in Kuala Tanjung, Indonesia.Indonesia is a strategically important country for Konecranes.

Indonesian teams searching a lake for a sunken ferry in the hope of recovering nearly 200 bodies trapped inside have to contend with dangerous currents and cold, murky water far deeper than any scuba diver can ever go.The over-loaded ferry Sinar Bangun sank in bad weather in Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. The lake, in the crater of an ancient supervolcano, is ringed by steeply sloping mountains, and is about 450 meters (1,500 feet) deep.Three people have been confirmed…

Divers and an underwater drone on Wednesday joined a fleet of rescue vessels in Indonesia's search for at least 192 passengers missing two days after an overcrowded wooden ferry sank in one of the world's deepest volcanic lakes in Sumatra.Authorities are unable to confirm how many were aboard when the vessel sank on Monday in bad weather, since it did not have a manifest. Four were confirmed dead and 18 survivors picked up, but officials fear the death toll could be much higher.Tearful relatives waiting for news gathered at the small port of Tigaras on Lake Toba.

The search for victims of a ferry that sank in the lake of an ancient supervolcano crater in Indonesia will resume on Wednesday with divers and an underwater drone to scour the depths for at least 128 missing passengers.The wooden tourist ferry sank in rough weather on Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. Eighteen survivors were found that evening, but only one body was recovered, and a day long search on Tuesday was suspended having failed to account for any more.One survivor, Widya, said her family died when the boat was hit by strong waves."There were at least five couples with two children each. I wish I had died with my family…

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

Indonesia and India pledged on Wednesday to step up defense and maritime cooperation, with plans to develop a strategic Indonesian naval port in the Indian Ocean, the leaders of the two countries said after meeting in Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss, among other issues, developing infrastructure and an economic zone at Sabang, on the tip of Sumatra island and at the mouth of the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels for global trade. "India is a strategic defence partner...and we will continue to advance our cooperation in developing infrastructure, including at Sabang Island and the Andaman Islands," Widodo told a news conference after the meeting at the presidential palace.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has concluded a deal with Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP) to supply three Kalmar SmartPower rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) for its container yard at the Port of Buatan in Indonesia. The order was booked in Cargotec's 2018 first quarter order intake and delivery is scheduled to take place towards the end of Q4 2018. RAPP, a subsidiary of APRIL Group - one of the world's leading producers of pulp and fine papers - operates a pulp and paper mill in Riau Province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The mill has an annual production capacity of 2.8 million tonnes of pulp and 850,000 tonnes of paper. APRIL Group has invested significantly in infrastructure to take its products to market, including a container terminal in the Port of Buatan.

DP World and Indonesian government and port officials signed an agreement to advise on the development of the Kuala Tanjung greenfield port and logistics zone and Belawan port in North Sumatra. As part of a Technical Assistance Contract, DP World will share its expertise and experience in increasing efficiencies, training and development for employees and developing multi-modal transport hubs. The agreement was signed by DP World Group Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Anil Wats and state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I President Director, Bambang Eka Cahyana. The event was also attended by Indonesian Minister of State Owned Enterprises Rini M Soemarno, Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE, Husein Bagis and senior DP World officials.

MT Alex, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) owned by Belgian tanker company Euronav Ship Management ran aground in Java Sea. The DWT 299,446 vessel, in laden condition, was sailing between Borneo and Sumatra on its way to Ningbo, China under load of crude oil, when she ran aground on a soft mud bottom. No injuries or pollution have been reported while the vessel remains safely aground, in good weather. No breach of hull, water ingress or mechanical failure are apparent in the assessment made by the crew, while the Class surveyor is expected to board as soon as possible. In a statement Euronav said that it has activated its emergency response plan and has notified all the relevant authorities; the emergency team is assessing the options for refloating the vessel.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s whole of government approach to maritime security, as an enabler for sustainable development of the blue economy, is being played out in the latest maritime security table-top exercise. The exercise in Tanga, United Republic of Tanzania (9-10 November) is highlighting the need for a unified approach to implementation of maritime security measures, with particular reference to IMO’s SOLAS chapter XI-2 and ISPS Code. During the exercise, participants from a range of Government agencies, including the port sector, are confronted with various threats and challenges to maritime security, involving policy decisions, crisis/emergency management and response.

Urea carrier Otong Kosasih suffered fire in superstructure, vessel is docked in Kalidoni Palembang, South Sumatra. The 1975-built, 11,196 dwt urea carrier Otong Kosasih owned by a local fertilizer company PT. Fire started in one of the cabins at around 1000 LT Sep 20, and spread up to other floors, engulfing captain’s cabin and threatening the bridge. All 32 crewmembers escaped unharmed. The crew which were on board went ashore, five fire trucks and four tugs were engaged in fire fighting. It took them three hours to extinguish fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known the ship, but provisional estimates the fire originated from an electric short circuit in room technician at the second floor of the ship.