The KM Karya Indah got engulfed by fire some five miles northeast of Lifamatola Island in Sula Islands District while en route to the remote port of Sasana from Ternate Port.
According to its passenger manifest, KM Karya Indah carried 181 passengers and 14 crew members onboard, while the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) found that the ill-fated ferry was carrying 283 people on board.
Apart from the discrepancy in data, Ternate Port Authority Head Affan Tabona said he remained consistent with what was disclosed in the passenger manifest.
The passenger manifest was provided by the ferry's skipper before the port authority issued a sailing permit.
"We have also reported this to the director general," he stated.
The Basarnas-Ternate Office disclosed earlier that KM Karya Indah had 283 people aboard according to data collected by rescuers.
Of the total number, 282 survived the sea accident, while the other identified as Dedi Hidayat, 43, reportedly went missing, he remarked.
Several fatal accidents at sea and other water bodies had continued to challenge Indonesia's reputation in transportation safety.
On May 13, 2021, Indonesia's fishing vessel KM Bandar Nelayan 188, carrying 20 sailors onboard, met with a sea accident.
The vessel departed from the Indonesian island of Bali's Benoa Port on April 8, 2021, for a fishing ground, but its engine room reportedly got submerged in the sea waters on May 13 at the coordinates of 31° 10.70' S 102° 16.32' E.
The ill-fated fishing ship was detected some 1,520 nautical miles away from Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas)-Bali Office, or some 697 nautical miles away from Perth in Western Australia.
One of Indonesia's worst sea accidents occurred on June 18, 2018, involving MV "Sinar Bangun". The ship, reportedly carrying 202 passengers onboard, had met its watery grave at the bottom of Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province.
Consequently, three passengers lost their lives, while 164 others had gone missing. Only 21 survived the tragedy.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: A.Fatah, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
