KNKT warns emergency drills and rules fall short on Indonesia’s roro ships

Jakarta — Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi, KNKT) has warned that emergency handling on roll-on/roll-off (roro) vessels remains inadequate, and has urged a review of shipping safety regulations it considers ineffective in guaranteeing passenger and cargo safety, according to recent public statements by its chair, Soerjanto Tjahjono.

Speaking in a webinar organized by the Indonesian Transportation Society (Masyarakat Transportasi Indonesia, MTI) on Friday, 18 September 2026, Soerjanto said emergency drills on roro ships are still treated largely as a formality, rather than as a mandatory operational need to expose weaknesses in procedures and equipment. He said this approach undermines readiness when accidents occur, according to reports citing the event.

Emergency drills highlight slow response and equipment obstacles

KNKT’s observations from investigations and shipboard simulations point to multiple operational weaknesses during emergency handling on roro vessels. In one set of exercises, the committee noted that crew and participants took around three to six minutes to put on life jackets after briefings, while donning fire-protective suits required about five to eight minutes and the help of two people, according to coverage of Soerjanto’s remarks.

The committee also reported that firefighting drills revealed problems with hydrant hoses on fully loaded vessels. Cargo placement and obstacles on deck made it difficult to deploy the hoses effectively when the ship was carrying a full load, limiting the crew’s ability to respond quickly to fires.

These findings suggest that emergency equipment may be present but not reliably accessible or usable under realistic operating conditions. KNKT linked the delays and difficulties in using life jackets, fire suits and hydrant systems to the way drills are planned and conducted, arguing that exercises should be used to uncover weaknesses, not merely to demonstrate compliance.

Key operational figures from KNKT’s emergency simulations:

• Life-jacket use: approximately three to six minutes after briefing.
• Fire-suit preparation: approximately five to eight minutes, typically requiring two people.
• Hydrant operation: hindered on fully loaded vessels because of cargo obstacles on deck.

KNKT emphasized that these observations were drawn from investigations and selected shipboard drills, rather than a comprehensive survey of all roro vessels in Indonesia. The committee did not publicly specify how many ships or routes were involved in the simulations.

Regulations seen as out of step with ship conditions

Beyond emergency drills, KNKT has raised broader concerns that several shipping safety regulations no longer match conditions on board roro vessels and may be difficult to implement consistently. In the same MTI webinar, Soerjanto said that rules should be evaluated and revised when they are judged ineffective in providing safety assurance, and that regulatory gaps can contribute to accidents.

He pointed to Transportation Ministry Regulation PM 115 of 2016 on the procedures for transporting vehicles on ships as one area needing attention. The regulation governs how vehicles are carried on board, including lashing requirements to prevent trucks and other vehicles from shifting during voyages. KNKT highlighted ambiguities in the rule’s wording on which vehicles must be lashed and the strength standards for lashing equipment.

According to the committee’s review, the regulation requires lashing ropes with a strength of around 10 tonnes, yet ropes observed in the field often fall short of that standard. For trucks weighing 30 to 40 tonnes or more, KNKT said safe arrangements can involve securing vehicles at multiple points along both sides, but many vessels lack sufficient lashing points to achieve that.

KNKT linked these shortcomings to its accident data, which show that fires involving vehicle cargo are a major cause of roro ship incidents. The committee has reported that a large share of roro fires investigated in recent years originated in truck or vehicle cargo rather than in the ship’s own systems, reinforcing its call for tighter oversight of vehicle loading and lashing practices.

Recommendation to strengthen pre-departure inspections

KNKT has also pushed for changes to how ships are inspected before sailing. In a recommendation issued on 13 January 2025, the committee urged a review of Transportation Ministry Regulation PM 28 of 2022, which governs the issuance of sailing approvals and permits for ship activities in ports.

The recommendation argued that inspections should not focus solely on administrative documents. KNKT proposed that authorities incorporate physical checks, at least through random examinations, covering hull construction, stability, machinery, safety equipment and crew competence before departure, as well as considering weather conditions and accident potential in pre-sailing decisions.

In its latest comments, KNKT linked the need for regulatory review to findings from investigations and practical exercises involving fires, life jackets and rescue boats on roro ships. By aligning rules with actual ship conditions and ensuring that inspections look beyond paperwork, the committee argues that operators and regulators can improve readiness and reduce casualty risks.

For passengers and operators, the message is that safety on roro vessels depends not only on having equipment on board, but also on crew familiarity, unobstructed access to gear, adequate securing points for vehicles and realistic emergency drills that test procedures under full-load conditions.

Sources

• VOI English
• Chatnews.id
• Tempo.co
• IDN Times
• Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia (Hubud Kemenhub)
• Government regulation repository (Supabase-hosted PDF of PM 28/2022)
• KNKT official website