Jakarta, June 8 (Antara) - Indonesia will once again see the exodus of the devout when a large number of people travel to be with their families for Ied Fitr post-fasting, or Lebaran, early next month.
Tens of millions of Lebaran revelers across the country will be home-bound, traveling by air, land or sea.
A sector that will witness the flow of a large number of travelers will be sea transportation. Although port operators predict the number of those traveling by sea to remain stable this year, the government will not take any risk and will make adequate arrangements lest it is found wanting.
Authorities are gearing up to prepare passenger terminals at seaports and to check the worthiness of ships that will transport Ied Fitr travelers, locally known as 'pemudik.'
Port operator company PT Pelindo III is preparing 13 passenger terminals at ports in the areas where it operates. It has predicted that the number of passengers passing through its 13 terminals will not see a major increase this year.
Spokesman of Pelindo III Edi Priyanto said in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday that over the past five years, the number of Ied Fitr travelers had remained the same and Lebaran season did not witness major changes.
"In the 2016 Lebaran transportation season, the number of 'pemudik' who will use sea transportation services is expected to remain relatively stable. If there is an increase, it will not be too high, as proved by the annual data in recent past," Edi said.
In 2011, Pelindo III areas recorded 462,581 travelers during the period 15 days before and 15 days after the Ied Fitr D-Day. Next year, it dropped to 416,732 but then rose to 495,215 in 2013, before dropping again to 482,144 in 2014. The year 2015 saw it rising to 512,638.
Nevertheless, PT Pelindo III is preparing at least 13 passenger terminals in seven provinces in anticipation of possible increase in travelers' numbers.
These 13 terminals are in the provinces of East Java, Central Java, Bali, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
In East Java, the terminals are being prepared at Tanjung Perak Port, Gresik Port and Tanjung Wangi Banyuwangi port.
Similarly, terminals are also being prepared at Tanjung Emas port of Semarang in Central Java, Benoa port in Bali, Banjarmasin port in South Kalimantan, Kotabaru/Batulicin port of South Kalimantan, Sampit and Kumai port in Central Kalimantan.
In West Nusa Tenggara, the terminals being prepared are at the Lembar and Bima/Pedas ports while those in East Nusa Tenggara are at the ports of Tenau Kupang, Kalabahi, Waingaput and Maumere.
Edi said 15 days before and as many days after the Ied Fitr on July 6-7, 2016 may see a heavy rush.
In the meantime, the Directorate General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation will conduct physical checks to evaluate the seaworthiness of 1,273 ships that will ferry post-fasting Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran 2016 passengers.
Director General for Sea Transportation Antonious Tonny Budiono noted in a written statement here on Wednesday that Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan had ordered that the ships be evaluated to check their seaworthiness.
The orders came vide the minister's instruction No. IM 12 of 2016 regarding the "Examination of the Worthiness of the Means of Transportation."
"This is intended to guarantee the safety and security of the people using the transportation service. Any negligence or shortfall found during the examination will not be tolerated," he emphasized.
Tonny said his side will soon follow up on the minister's directive by issuing the Instruction of the Directorate General of Sea Transportation No. UM.008/43/2/DJPL-16, Dated June 7, 2016, on the Examination of Seaworthiness of Passenger Ships within the framework of the 2016 Lebaran Transportation Service.
In his instruction, the director general had ordered the relevant agencies to carry out seaworthiness checks on 1,273 ships that will be used to transport Lebaran travelers. The checks will be conducted from June 6-12, 2016.
"The head offices of the technical units at the Sea Transportation Directorate General should physically check the ships' seaworthiness. The results should be reported to the director general for further follow-up," he pointed out.
Tonny affirmed that he would also send an integrated team to conduct the examinations at several ports serving these ships, such as the seaports of Merak, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Samarinda, Balikpapan, Bitung, Palembang, Pontianak, Tanjung Emas in Semarang, Makassar, Belawan, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Benoa, Sorong, Ambon, and Batam.
The integrated team will include concerned officials from the offices of the directorate general of sea transportation and inspectorate general of transportation. The team will also include marine inspectors from the shipping and maritime directorate; the agency for transportation research and development; transportation of human resources development agency and the public relations bureau of the directorate general of sea transportation.
Tonny said if the examinations revealed that a ship had failed to meet the required norms, it will be grounded till repairs were conducted and the vessel was proven to be seaworthy.
Moreover, the directorate general of sea transportation will also evaluate whether the crew members assigned to ships ferrying the 2016 Lebaran travelers are well-trained and ready to ensure the safety and security of the ships. ***3***
(a014/INE)
EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 08-06-2016 22:33: |
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