Search Underway for Indonesian Passenger Ship Carrying 241 After Losing Contact

Indonesian rescuers launched a search operation Sunday after a passenger ship carrying 241 people lost contact in the Java Sea while travelling from Surabaya in East Java to South Kalimantan on Borneo island, officials said.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, said it received a report that the Virgo Transport 8 had experienced a communication failure while en route to Banjarmasin.

Initial information indicated that the vessel’s last known position was in the Java Sea, about 148 kilometres (92 miles) from a pier in Banjarmasin, according to authorities. The ship’s manifest listed 241 passengers on board.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Arianto Ardi, operations chief at Banjarmasin’s rescue agency, confirmed that contact with the vessel had been lost and said rescue teams had been dispatched to the area.

“We have established an operations post at Trisakti,” Arianto said.

Authorities said the ship’s operator reported the incident after receiving information that the vessel had encountered bad weather.