Jakarta – A speedboat carrying 18 passengers capsized in the waters of Mentawai Islands regency, West Sumatra, on Monday, an incident that once again underscored Indonesia's ongoing struggles with maritime safety.
According to authorities, the boat was traveling from North Pagai Island to Sipora Island at around 7 a.m. However, three hours into the journey, it encountered poor weather and high waves in the Sipora Strait, causing the vessel to capsize.
Among the 18 people on board were local councillor Isar Taileleu and his two children, as well as officials from the local Housing Agency, the Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency, and several local contractors. The purpose of the trip remains unclear.
Seven passengers were found safe on Monday night after swimming for six hours to reach the shore.
The remaining victims were discovered the following day, having also managed to swim to safety, according to Mentawai Police Chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Rory Ratno.
"They have been transported to a medical facility in Tuapejat, with most suffering from severe exhaustion," Rory said on Tuesday, as reported by Kompas.com.
Prior to their rescue, the Mentawai Search and Rescue Agency had deployed 28 personnel and two vessels to search for the missing passengers following the boat's capsizing.
Mentawai Islands Regent Rinto Wardana stated that the boat was operating over its maximum capacity when the accident occurred.
"The vessel was only permitted to carry 10 passengers, but at the time of the incident, it was carrying 18 people," he said on Tuesday, as reported by Antaranews.
Making matters worse, Rinto added that the vessel was not equipped with a radio and lacked a sailing permit from the authorities, despite setting off in poor weather conditions.
Rinto promised that the Mentawai Islands administration will educate ship operators to comply with existing regulations and vowed to enforce strict sanctions against violators.
The boat accident in the Mentawai Islands occurred just weeks after the Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry sank in the Bali Strait, killing at least 18 people and leaving 17 others missing.
According to the official manifest, 53 passengers and 12 crew members were on board, but authorities believe the actual number may be higher, as many victims were reportedly not listed on the passenger list.
Authorities are currently preparing to launch a salvage operation of the sunken ferry, believing that many of the missing victims remain trapped inside the vessel.
The National Search and Rescue Agency is preparing a diving mission and coordinating with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to identify safe conditions and locations for the operation.
A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) found that the likely cause of the Tunu Pratama Jaya's sinking was the crew's failure to close the engine room door before setting out to sea.
Investigators had questioned surviving crew and passengers and discovered that seawater first entered the ferry through an open engine room door located on the lower deck. The hatch to the engine room should have remained closed at all times while the ship was sailing.
"We are still investigating whether the vessel was overloaded at the time of the accident," said Anggiat Pandiangan, acting head of the KNKT Maritime Safety Subcommittee last week
The incident has reignited public calls for stricter safety regulations for vessels in the country, which has one of the world's poorest maritime safety records.
According to the Allianz Safety and Shipping Review 2025, archipelagic Indonesia ranks highly among countries with the highest number of ship losses globally.