TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has officially closed the search operation for the victims of the sinking of Tunu Pratama Jaya ship in the Bali Strait, which lasted for 20 days. The closure was carried out on Monday afternoon, July 21, 2025.
"The decision to terminate this SAR (Search and Rescue) operation was made jointly by Basarnas, relevant agencies, and search and rescue potential organizations after considering various aspects," said the Head of the Surabaya SAR Office, Nanang Sigit, as the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC), on Monday, July 21, 2025.
According to Nanang, during the last six days of the extended operation period, no signs of the victims' whereabouts were found. In addition to technical reasons, the decision also refers to Law Number 29 of 2024 and Government Regulation Number 22 of 2017.
The official closure of the operation was marked by the signing of the minutes by representatives of Basarnas along with other SAR elements, such as ASDP Ketapang, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Harbor Master's Office and Port Authority (KSOP), and the ship company.
In this operation, a joint SAR team had made search efforts through land, air, sea surface, and underwater routes. The location of the ship was successfully detected on the seafloor after shifting hundreds of meters from the initial sinking point. However, extreme weather in the Bali Strait was the main obstacle, preventing diving from being carried out.
"Even though it has been terminated, if signs of the victims' whereabouts are found later on, the SAR operation can be reconsidered for reopening," said Nanang.
Up to the cessation of the operation, a total of 49 victims were found. 30 people survived, while 19 victims were found deceased, with four of them yet to be identified.
Prior to this, the coordinator of the Banyuwangi SAR Post, Wahyu Setia Budi, said that the data on the number of passengers or the manifest of KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya showed that there were 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 vehicles on board. This means that 16 people are still unaccounted for.
The incident of the ship sinking occurred on Wednesday night, July 2, 2025, at around 23:30 WITA (Central Indonesian Time), due to bad weather marked by high waves and strong winds. Wahyu stated that the sinking incident of Tunu Pratama Jaya ship, carrying dozens of passengers, occurred while traversing the Ketapang-Gilimanuk route.
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