Government Increases Number of Long Route Ship Trips to Ciwandan

LAMPUNG – The government has prepared a number of anticipatory steps to deal with the density of crossing passengers from Sumatra to Java during the peak return flow for Eid 2024. Among them, the operation of ships from Panjang Harbor to Ciwandan Harbor with a carrying capacity of 1,445 small vehicles.

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi said that other anticipatory steps were to increase the number of ships operated from 131 to 146 trips, as well as creating a war room or room that presents port activity data and information digitally.

“During the homecoming flow, Bakauheni receives ships from Merak and Ciwandan, as a result the rotation from Merak Port is not optimal because it is interrupted by ships from Ciwandan Port,” said the Minister of Transportation while conducting an inspection at Bakauheni Port and Panjang Port, Lampung, Sunday (14/4/2024 ).

“Currently, during the reverse flow, ships from Ciwandan Port have gone to Panjang Port. Then we have a war room, all stakeholders are present, with one screen that monitors ship departures so there are no significant delays,” he continued.

The Minister of Transportation advised the public to maximize the use of the alternative port of Panjang, which operates three fleets of state and private ships on the Panjang-Ciwandan route on April 12-18 2024. The three ships depart at 12.00, 14.00 and 16.00 WIB respectively. So that there is no buildup at Bakauheni Port.

Furthermore, the Minister of Transportation hopes that the anticipatory efforts that have been prepared can ensure the smooth and safe return flow of crossings from Sumatra to Java.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy added that the government had made maximum efforts to reduce congestion. However, he reminded that the weather factor would still be a determining factor.

“Of course there are several determinant factors that we cannot manipulate optimally, namely weather and waves. Hopefully the weather and waves are fine so they don’t interfere with the ship’s crossing time,” he said.

(fjo)