(AKI) – Up to 29 people died after a small wooden passenger boat capsised off the island of Sulawesi, government official and hospital staff said on Friday. The number of passengers estimated to be on board the ferry varies from 82 to 146 people. Such discrepancies are common in Indonesia, where accurate passenger lists are not keptThe accident took place on Thursday night just before the ferry was due to reach the town of Baubau in southeastern Sulawesi, according to the Indonesian transport ministry. It is the latest in a string of transport disasters across the archipelago-nation, where the safety record of Indonesian passenger ships and ferries is poor.
Passenger ships are widely used to connect IndonesiaÂ’s more than 17,000 islands, since they are cheaper and more readily available than aircraft. But accidents are common with boats often being overcrowded and in poor condition. According to LloydÂ’s List, one of the problem is that Indonesian ships are registered for their lifetime and follow-up surveys are not enforced. Recent maritime disasters include a passenger ship, carrying 70 people, which disappeared off eastern Indonesia in July; a fire on a ferry, killing 53, in February; and a crowded ferry that broke apart and sunk, killing more than 400 people, just before New Year.
Indonesia is also grappling with problems in other transport sectors. A series of passenger aircraft accidents earlier this year caused the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines from its airspace. Rail accidents also occur frequently as the country's rail network, built during the Dutch colonial era, is aging rapidly.
| My sources tell me that people who go out for a walk on Indonesia's roads regularly trip, fall, and hurt themselves. |