REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi appreciated all parties that has found objects that possibly is the wreckage of MV Sinar Bangun which sank in Lake Toba on Monday (June 18). He expected the joint team can immediately find the exact location of the ship.

“We appreciate National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, and all people who have worked together to find the object. We must clarify further about this finding,” said Budi in a written statement on Monday (June 25).

According to Budi, Ministry of Transportation will immediately take a number of steps in Lake Toba to prevent the similar incident. He also ordered Director General of Sea Transportation to bring the team to the field to conduct a ramp check on the ships in Lake Toba.

Ministry of Transportation will focus on ramp check,  include ship construction, safety equipment and ship capacity tailored to ship certificate. He said the ships that do not pass the ramp check should not be operated first.

“The ramp check is mandatory and should be done within 2 until 3 days,” Budi added.

In near future, every ship that will sail in Lake Toba is required to get a Sailing Approval Letter (SPB). The letter is issued by the local Department of Transportation Officer.

Earlier, scan sonar has detected objects in two locations at a depth of 490 meters in Lake Toba on Sunday (June 24) evening. Basarnas chief M Syaugi then confirmed the findings.

The objects are detected 2 km and 2,5 km southwest of the port respectively. Basarnas will ascertain the objects in the locations before taking further steps.

The agency will make sure whether one of the objects is the wreckage of MV Sinar Bangun. At least 184 people are still missing after Sinar Bangun MV sank.

The SAR agency also operated Dauphin A 365 helicopter to assist the search and help the evacuation. Several personnel also searched the victims in the coastal area.

MV Sinar Bangun capsized in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, at around 5 p.m. local time on last Monday. The latest development revealed that the boat carried 206 people while its capacity was only 43 passengers. Only 22 passengers have been found, with 19 of them having survived, including the captain of MV Sinar Bangun.

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