KSOP Labuan Bajo cites falling ship accident ratios amid ongoing incidents

Labuan Bajo — The Labuan Bajo Harbormaster and Port Authority (KSOP) has reported a declining ratio of ship accidents in Labuan Bajo and Komodo waters since 2021, while recent incidents continue to raise concerns over vessel safety and oversight.

KSOP Labuan Bajo chief Stephanus Risdiyanto has repeatedly stated that the accident ratio is calculated by comparing the number of ship departures that receive sailing approval documents (Surat Persetujuan Berlayar, or SPB) with the number of recorded accidents, without disclosing the underlying totals of departures or incidents by year, according to local media reports.

In February 2024, Risdiyanto said the ship accident ratio in Komodo waters was 0.048 percent in 2021, 0.045 percent in 2022 and 0.036 percent in 2023

Subsequent reports in mid‑2025 cited KSOP data showing a broadly similar pattern and a very low accident ratio. In May 2025, KSOP stated that the accident ratio had reached around 0.03 percent, or about three emergency incidents per 100,000 ship departures, with no fatalities recorded in 2023 and 2024, according to Tribun’s regional site and an English‑language tourism news portal that echoed the same KSOP figures.

Those mid‑2025 accounts did not provide a full year‑by‑year breakdown for 2024 and 2025, nor did they mention a specific 0.022 percent ratio. The 0.022 percent figure and the associated yearly series presented in the original draft could not be confirmed from the available independent sources.

How KSOP presents the risk

In interviews with local media, Risdiyanto has argued that, when measured against the volume of traffic in Labuan Bajo and Komodo waters, ship accidents remain rare. He has described a situation where “in 100,000 departures only fewer than four ships experience accidents” and emphasized that recent years have seen no loss of life in recorded incidents, according to Tribun’s June 2024 reporting.

However, neither KSOP nor the media outlets that quote its statistics have published the detailed methodology behind the ratio, including the precise formula, the total number of departures, or the absolute number of accidents by year. Without those denominators, the figures indicate a declining proportion of accidents but cannot independently show whether the total number of incidents is also falling.

Local civil society groups have criticized what they see as an overly statistical framing of safety, arguing that officials tend to stress low ratios while accidents involving tourist vessels continue to occur, according to a November 2025 commentary by Floresa.co.

Recent accident: KM Tiga Jaya 01

Despite the low ratios reported by KSOP, individual incidents remain significant. One widely reported case was the fire aboard the tourist phinisi KM Tiga Jaya 01 at the Marina Waterfront in Labuan Bajo in September 2025.

According to a December 2025 article by regional outlet VoxNTT, the vessel caught fire at around 20:55 local time while moored in the marina area. The blaze was suspected to have started during refuelling of a generator while its engine was still running, causing flames that engulfed much of the wooden vessel.

VoxNTT reported that two crew members suffered minor burns and received hospital treatment, while no passengers were on board at the time. The incident was cited by safety advocates as an example of weak oversight of tourist vessel seaworthiness and operational procedures.

Broader compilations of Labuan Bajo vessel accidents in 2024 and 2025, published by regional news sites, list multiple groundings, sinkings and fires involving tourist boats and other vessels. KSOP data cited in early‑2026 reporting indicate that there were around ten emergency incidents involving tourist vessels in Labuan Bajo and Komodo waters during 2025, with one fatal sinking late in the year and nine non‑fatal cases.

Safety measures and outstanding questions

KSOP and the Ministry of Transportation say they have worked to improve safety and oversight in Labuan Bajo, including issuing sailing safety notices, increasing patrols, and conducting crew training and emergency drills, according to ministry communications and local media interviews.

Nonetheless, several key questions remain open based on publicly available information: the annual totals of departures and accidents behind each reported percentage; the vessel categories included in KSOP’s dataset; the exact geographic scope of the ratios; and whether more recent KSOP figures show a continued decline or a change in trend after the cluster of incidents in late 2025.

Sources

• Floresa.co report on recurring tourist boat accidents and KSOP Labuan Bajo’s accident ratio
• Pos Kupang / Tribun regional article on ship accident cases and KSOP Labuan Bajo’s claims
• Embong Lando Tour news post on the number of tourist boats and accident ratio in Labuan Bajo
• VoxNTT article on the KM Tiga Jaya 01 tourist phinisi fire in Labuan Bajo
• Labuan Bajo Terkini article on the wave of tourist vessel accidents in Labuan Bajo during 2025