MV Senopati Nusantara Sinks
Hundreds Of Passengers Overboard Missing At Sea
December 29, 2006
Date: Decemeber 29, 2006
Event: Sinking
Bruise Location: Off Java
Passengers Onboard: 850
Crew Onboard: Unknown
Deaths: 673
Cruise Line: Prima Vista
Cruise Ship: Senopati Nusantara
Details
The Senopati went down in rough seas with fifteen foot waves crashing over her bow around midnight local time on Friday December 29, 2005. The vessel was en route from the port of Kumai on Broneo island, to Sumarang on Java.
The boat ran into trouble 24 miles off Mandalika island, which is about 190 miles northeast of the capital, Jakarta.
Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said that the ship's manifest indicated 542 passengers were onboard. However, these ships have a history of being overloaded. It is expected the real number of passengers onboard was around 850. The vessel has been known to transport as many as 1300 passengers at a time.
After 12 hours only 38 passengers have been found alive. They were stranded on an island. Navy Commander Colonel Yan Simamora said that rescuers in commerical ships, war ships and helicopters searched the area, but were hampered by poor visibility in rough seas.
The Indonesian navy sent three warships to locate hundreds who are still missing, the state news agency Antara reported.
More than 12 hours after the accident, rescue workers in ships and helicopters had found nine survivors stranded on a nearby island.
MV Senopati Nusantara was launched on May 12, 2000 by Prima Vista, an Indonesian shipping company. The vessel served Surabaya (East Java)-Banjarmasin (West Kalimantan) and Surabaya-Balikpapan (East Kalimantan)-Banjarmasin.
