Working Conditions Aboard the Km.lambelu

26 out of 42 crew members of the KM 'Lambelu' have tested positive for COVID-19 after undertaking swab tests in the provincial capital of Makassar as of April 12. The health agency's head, Ichsan Mustari, announced the test results through a video conference in the evening. the 42 crew members were being quarantined off the coast of Makassar. The second wave of the swab tests was scheduled for April 13, in which 99 other crew members of the vessel, owned by state ship operator PT Pelni, were set to be examined. The ship arrived in Makassar on April 10 after sailing from Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, with 141 people on board. She had carried a total of 238 passengers and it was not allowed to dock at Lorens Say Port in Maumere last week by Sikka regent Fransiskus Roberto Diogo, as three people on board the vessel had reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus. Health authorities in Sikka regency took all the passengers into quarantine on April 7 and conducted rapid tests. The ship then headed to Makassar as some passengers had tested positive. The ferry remained two nautical miles off Makassar’s Soekarno-Hatta Port. People on board the ship have yet to embark.

Hundreds of passengers of the KM 'Lambelu', which is connecting Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi and Flores islands, were shocked when being informed that the ship could not dock at Maumere upon Flores island, Sikka Regency, after the arrival from Tarakan, East Kalimantan, on April 7, 2020. Authorities at Lorens Say Port in Maumere, Sikka regency — the ferry’s final destination — initially rejected the request to dock. The hundreds of passengers on board reportedly became restless as they awaited further instructions, with five passengers deciding to escape the chaos by jumping off the ship while holding on to or wearing lifejackets. A local search and rescue team then helped the five passengers to safety. There were no reports of them suffering any injuries from the steep drop. Sikka regent Fransiskus Roberto Diogo, who initially refused to allow the ship to dock, slammed the provincial transport agency for allowing the ship to approach the regency in the first place. In the evening, Fransiskus signed off on allowing the KM 'Lambelu' to dock at the port on humanitarian reasons. The 238 passengers and crew were placed under quarantine, where they will be observed for at least several days. The three crew members suspected of having COVID-19 had tested positive using the rapid test kit and will undergo the more reliable nasal swab test to confirm their conditions. Report with video: https://coconuts.co/bali/news/ferry-carrying-suspected-covid-19-patients-denied-entry-in-ntt-passengers-jump-off-in-panic-video/

The Indonesian National Shipping (Pelni) authority jointly with the Port of Tarakan authorities freed the "Lambelu" on Oct 26 at 3.15 p.m. The ship was taken to Tarakan to undergo a thorough inspection by the Shipping Society of Indonesia on Oct 28. Already on Oct 27 divers surveyed the hull. The vessel had suffered no damage and was declared seaworthy. At 12.15 a.m. the ship was released and immediately proceeded to Nunukan on Oct 29 and further to Toli-Toli-Pare-Pare, Makassar and Kupang The accident happened when the "Lambelu" tried to avoid a collision with the tug "Sea Oval" which was pulling a barge and veered to port instead of the starboard side, so that the way was blocked for the ferry which ran aground at 02:53 a.m. Evacuation of the passengers lasted from Oct 23 to Oct 25. Indonesian reports with photos: http://kaltara.prokal.co/read/news/7347-km-lambelu-bakal-mangkrak-ditarik-pekan-depan.html https://netz.id/news/2016/10/22/00516-01616/1006221016/km-lambelu-kandas-di-tarakan-ratusan-penumpang-terkurung?src=ec