Video: Ro/Ro Ferry Capsizes at a Pier in Kalimantan

On Wednesday morning, a ro/pax ferry capsized at the pier in Kalimantan, Indonesia shortly after passengers disembarked.

In the early morning hours of October 19, the ferry Satya Kencana III was moored at Kumai, a riverine port on the south coast of Borneo. Her passengers began disembarking at about 0045 hours, leaving only vehicles behind on the cargo deck. At about 0200, while unloading a truck on the port side ramp, the vessel took on a severe list. The truck fell into the river, and the ship continued to list further to port until it partially capsized and sank on its side. 

Several trucks, cars and other vehicles remained aboard when the vessel went over, but all passengers and crew were safely evacuated to the pier. No injuries were reported.

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) will take up an investigation into the circumstances of the capsizing. For now, the sunken vessel remains in its place, and it is blocking the north side of the port's small ferry pier. Local authorities have boomed it off and plan to use dispersants to address any oil pollution. 

Hary Suryanto, the head of the Kumai Harbormaster and Port Authority, told local media that a truck had gotten stuck in the loading door. This motion was enough to cause the vessel to list far enough over that other vehicles on deck "rocked" over to the port side. This "gave more weight to the [port side] and caused the ship to sink," he said. 

Satya Kencana III was a 600 dwt ro/pax ferry built in 1989 and operated by PT Dharma Lautan Utama. She was deployed on a scheduled run between Surabaya and Kumai.