Indonesian officials have admitted they still do not know the number of passengers onboard the Indonesian-flagged ro-ro passengership Santika Nusantara (built 1997) which was destroyed by a blaze off the east coast of Java on August 22.
Transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi has admitted the 150 rescued from the 13,000-gt ship by far exceeds the 111 passengers reported on the ship’s manifest. Figures from the captain suggest there my have been as many as 177 onboard.
But some local reports suggest as many as 300 people in total were evacuated from the ship. There are reports a further 34 are still missing. So far only three have been confirmed dead from the disaster.
The rescue was carried out by Indonesia's National Search and Relief Agency assisted by local fishing vessels.
Sumadi put the discrepancy between the Santika Nusantara’s manifest and the numbers onboard partly down to stowaways which boarded the vessel undetected on trucks.
The cause of the disaster is still under investigation.
TradeWinds earlier reported how Indonesia suffered a separate maritime disaster in August when the Indonesian-flagged 52,000-dwt bulk carrier Nur Allya (built 2002) went missing with its crew of 25.
There was also a recent ro-pax fire in the Philippines involving the 645-ton Lite Ferry 16 off Dapitan City.
Like the Santika Nusantara it emerged there were more passengers onboard than declared in the manifest. Three people were confirmed dead in the Lite Ferry 16 fire.
