Ferry Grounds Off Bali, Prompting Mass Evacuation

 

On Sunday, a ferry with more than 70 passengers aboard went aground just off its pier near Gilimanuk, Bali, prompting a mass evacuation. 

At about 0500 hours on Sunday morning, the interisland ferry Gerbang Samudra 2 was arriving at the ferry terminal at Gilimanuk, West Bali on a routine transit from Ketapan, Java. In strong currents, the vessel grounded on a reef just 300 feet away from its destination. 

An initial attempt by another ferry to tow the Samudra off the reef was not successful. The operator reported the incident to the authorities at about 0840 hours, well after the grounding, according to local media. The Indonesian Navy and the local harbormaster responded to the scene, and a SAR team reached the ferry with a rigid inflatable to begin the process of evacuating passengers. 

The evacuation was completed by about 1130 hours, and all 76 passengers aboard were safely transferred to shore. The crew of the Samudra remained aboard to help with further refloat attempts. 

On Monday morning, two vessels - SMS Swakarya and KMP Gerbang Samudra 5 - were lined up at 0600 to tow the Gerbang Samudra 2 off the reef. At high tide, both began to pull, and the stricken ferry came free at 0730 hours. It then moved to the ro/ro pier at the port and began to offload its cargo of vehicles, finishing up by 0840. 

The vessel has diverted to Ketapang, Kalimantan for an inspection, local police told Nusa Bali.