March 16, 2026 | 11:18 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - More than 200,000 Eid Homecoming travelers from Bali have already crossed to Java on D-7, last Sunday, March 15, 2026. This number has been recorded since D-10, Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Arief Eko, the General Manager of ASDP Ketapang Branch, stated that they have implemented the arrive-unload-depart (TBB) scheme to reduce the congestion of vehicles from Bali to Java. Out of the total 35 operating ferries on the Ketapang-Gilimanuk route, 11 ferries are currently using this scheme.
"The TBB scheme is implemented with the pattern of ships only unloading cargo at Ketapang Port without the loading process, then immediately sailing back to Gilimanuk to carry the next vehicles," said Arief on Sunday night, March 15, 2026.
PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Ketapang Branch plans to add larger-sized ferries on the Ketapang-Gilimanuk route to increase the vehicle capacity and smoothen the flow of the Bali-Java connecting crossing.
The presence of larger ferries is not intended to increase the total number of operating ferries. ASDP will only change the fleet's composition by adding more large-sized ferries, especially those with a weight of around 2,000 Gross Tonnage (GT).
"The number of operating ferries will likely remain around 35 units. But their composition will be strengthened with larger-sized ferries," said Arief.
Based on cumulative data from D-10 to D-7, more than 200,000 passengers have been crossed from Bali to Java. In addition, more than 35,000 motorcycles and around 17,000 small vehicles have also crossed through Gilimanuk Port.
"The most significant increase occurred with two-wheeled vehicles, about 32 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, four-wheeled vehicles increased about 11 percent," he said.
He predicts that the flow of vehicles from Bali to Java will continue to increase and is expected to occur until March 17. Especially nearing the closing of the crossing on March 18-20 due to Nyepi.
Deputy Minister of Transportation Suntana directly inspected the congestion of vehicles from Bali to Java that occurred on the route to Gilimanuk Port on Sunday night.
Before heading to the queue location, Suntana first held a coordination meeting with the port authorities at the ASDP Indonesia Ferry office in the Ketapang Port area. The meeting discussed steps to accelerate the flow of vehicles that have piled up on the Bali side to quickly disperse the queue. "I came here just to expedite the flow from there (Gilimanuk)," said Suntana.
After the meeting, Suntana's entourage immediately moved to Gilimanuk Port to monitor the queue conditions directly.
One of the travelers, Kholik, 25 years old, arrived at Ketapang Port around 6:50 PM WIB (Western Indonesian Time). He had to wait a long time before he could board the ferry.
He left from the Canggu area, Bali, around 10:00 PM WITA (Central Indonesian Time) using a travel service. He only arrived at the waiting parking area of Gilimanuk Port around 10:00 AM, due to the long queue to the port.
"I left at 10 PM. I only boarded the ferry from Gilimanuk after the evening. More than 10 hours my group and I waited," said the traveler from Probolinggo.
Another traveler, Heri, 45 years old, also experienced a long queue. He said the vehicle queue even reached more than 30 kilometers. "I left from Seminyak, Bali at 8 PM. I arrived here (Ketapang Port) almost at 7 PM. The traffic jam was more than 30 kilometers," said Heri, who is also from Probolinggo.
According to him, the most severe congestion occurred from early morning until morning. The vehicles even couldn't move at all for several hours. "From 3 AM to 9 AM, it was a total standstill, couldn't move. Only after that, we could slowly move towards Gilimanuk Port," he said.
He said the congestion worsened due to chaotic traffic conditions, especially vehicles overtaking each other in the queue line. "The problem is that vehicles from two directions are overtaking each other, so it's chaotic. Many were driving off-road," he said.
Read: Eid Homecoming: 25 Percent of Vehicles Have Already Left Jakarta, Traffic Police Say
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