Tour Boat Kailana Runs Aground Near Gili Lawa in Komodo Park

Labuan Bajo — A small cruise vessel named Kailana ran aground on a reef in waters off Gili Lawa, within Komodo National Park, in the early hours of Saturday, 12 September 2026, according to local media reports citing port authorities in Labuan Bajo.

Head of the Class III Labuan Bajo Harbormaster and Port Authority Office (KSOP), Stephanus Risdiyanto, confirmed the grounding and said the vessel was not part of the regular fleet operating out of Labuan Bajo.

Reports describe Kailana as a tourist cruise boat rather than a large international cruise liner, serving visitors in the Komodo National Park area.

Grounding in Gili Lawa

Coverage from regional outlets states that Kailana struck reef and went aground at around 02:00 WITA near Gili Lawa, a popular island and dive site in the northern part of the park.

As of Saturday morning, the vessel had not resumed sailing and remained stuck on the reef, drawing attention from local tourism operators who shared images and video of the incident.

KSOP officials said they had not yet confirmed how many passengers or crew were on board at the time of the grounding and had not received reports of casualties.

Response from port authority

Stephanus Risdiyanto told Indonesian media that Kailana was “not a ship operating in Bajo, not from Labuan Bajo”, indicating that the vessel did not depart from Marina Labuan Bajo and was not registered as a regular local operator.

He said the port authority had not deployed personnel to evacuate the vessel on Saturday morning because the ship could potentially free itself once the tide rose.

KSOP plans to carry out an inspection of Kailana if and when it arrives at Marina Labuan Bajo following the incident.

Ship refloated after several hours

Subsequent reports state that Kailana remained aground for about nine hours before refloating and resuming its voyage within Komodo National Park.

According to KSOP, the vessel came off the reef at around 11:00 WITA and continued sailing, with a scheduled onward journey towards Labuan Bajo.

Local coverage did not report any injuries to passengers or crew, and described damage to the vessel as minor.

Environmental impact not yet detailed

As of the latest reports, authorities and local outlets had not released a formal assessment of potential impacts on coral reefs, seagrass or marine fauna in the protected waters around Gili Lawa.

The incident has nonetheless highlighted ongoing concerns among tourism operators and conservation advocates about navigational safety and reef protection in the high-traffic marine tourism routes of Komodo National Park.

Sources

• detikcom – Kapal Pesiar Kandas di Perairan Taman Nasional Komodo Labuan Bajo
• Internationalmedia.co.id – Kapal Pesiar Mewah Terjebak di Komodo Begini Nasibnya
• SuarBerita.com – coverage under Labuan Bajo/kapal tags