Boat Owner Says Speedboat Carrying Missing Journalists Was Seaworthy

Search Intensifies for Seven Journalists Lost at Sea Near Krakatau Volcano

Tempatdonasi.com – The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) is preparing to expand its maritime search on Wednesday morning for at least seven journalists whose speedboat vanished from radar while en route to document volcanic activity at Mount Anak Krakatau. The vessel, which left the Banten coast on Monday afternoon, has not been located despite a full day of aerial and surface sweeps that reached Krakatau Island and Panjang Island without finding any trace of the missing crew or passengers.

The operation, which ran until 18:15 WIB on Tuesday, deployed the search vessel KN SAR Tatuka alongside a Banten Rigid Inflatable Boat fitted with water-rescue, medical, and communications equipment. The Banten Regional Police Water and Air Police Unit (Polairud) is working in parallel. Basarnas has also indicated plans to introduce thermal-imaging drones into the next phase of the search.

Boat Owner Confirms Vessel Was Fit for Sea

Sandi Wiasa, who owns the speedboat that carried the journalistic team, issued a video statement on Tuesday evening confirming that his vessel departed in full working order. Speaking to monitors in Jakarta, Wiasa stressed that the craft had been inspected, carried all required documentation, and was stocked with life jackets for every person aboard.

“The boat used was mine; it departed yesterday—sometime after 2:00 PM WIB—from Pegedongan Pier,” Sandi said in a video statement monitored in Jakarta on Tuesday, Sept. 8, evening.

Wiasa emphasized that sea conditions at the moment of departure were unremarkable and that the eight occupants were within the vessel’s rated capacity.

“It was seaworthy. The boat was fit for the journey,” he said.

He further confirmed the presence of registration papers and personal flotation devices.

“Regarding equipment and permits, we have them; we have the boat’s registration papers, and we have life jackets,” Sandi said.

Timeline of Lost Contact

According to the Banten Search and Rescue Office, the speedboat left Pagedongan Pier in Carita at 14:00 WIB on Monday, September 7, bound for the Krakatau volcanic zone. Records of the final radio exchange show that a member of the group relayed their position to a fellow journalist based in Lampung at 14:42 WIB. Contact was severed at 15:04 WIB, near the estimated coordinates 6°14’40.52″S, 105°40’49.48″E.

Wiasa said he first learned the boat could not be reached when the Carita Sector Police Chief relayed the information to him around 1:00 PM on Tuesday. He noted that the alert did not come directly from the vessel’s captain.

The boat was fitted with a portable Global Positioning System unit, though Wiasa acknowledged uncertainty over whether that device could be used to triangulate the craft’s position after departure.

Family and Local Networks Mobilized

Once the loss of contact became clear, Wiasa moved quickly to enlist informal assistance. He reached out to relatives living in the Sebesi Island area of Lampung and coordinated with Basarnas to fold local fishermen into the search grid.

“Yes, I have contacted some of our relatives in the Sebesi, Lampung area. Thankfully, they are currently trying to assist in the search efforts alongside local fishermen,” he said.

The normal transit time from Carita to the Krakatau area is roughly two hours, meaning the vessel should have arrived well before contact was lost.

Last Known Image from the Guide

Wiasa disclosed that the tour guide accompanying the journalistic group had transmitted a photograph of Mount Anak Krakatau to his wife approximately four hours after the boat left Carita. The image, Wiasa said, clearly depicted the volcano’s condition at the time.

“The guide still had it [the photo],” Sandi said.

He added that the boat was positioned more than three kilometres from the crater when the photograph was captured, placing the vessel in open water rather than in immediate proximity to the volcanic vent.

Who Is Missing

Preliminary data compiled by Basarnas identifies at least seven individuals as subjects of the ongoing search. Among them are photojournalist M. Bagus Khoirunnas of the ANTARA News Agency, Ari Basuki of Merdeka, Yudhis of iNews, Daus of Anadolu, and Donal, a freelance journalist. Two additional persons remain under verification as their affiliations and identities are confirmed.

Next Steps and Operational Context

Banten SAR Office Head Al Amrad outlined the plan for the resumption of operations on Wednesday, September 9. The search area will be widened, building on the route reconnaissance completed during Tuesday’s sweep.

“Regarding the plan for tomorrow, we will expand the search area, as today we studied the route from Carita to Anak Krakatau,” he said.

Mount Anak Krakatau, a young volcanic cone that emerged from the caldera of the original Krakatau eruption in 1928, sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Its periodic eruptions draw photographers and reporters from across Indonesia and abroad, but the narrow strait’s currents, limited shelter, and proximity to busy shipping lanes make any maritime incident near the island a high-stakes emergency. The absence of a confirmed distress signal, combined with the last known position placing the vessel well short of the crater, has left investigators weighing whether the boat encountered sudden weather deterioration, mechanical failure, or a navigational error in the strait’s complex tidal regime.

As of Tuesday evening, no wreckage, debris, or survivors had been located. The search is expected to continue through Wednesday and beyond, with thermal drones slated to supplement the maritime and aerial assets already in the water.