A fast boat destined for Gili Trawangan went down off the east coast of Bali on Friday.
Thankfully no one was reported injured, but the sinking has prompted an investigation of the boat company and highlighted questionable safety standards.
The sunken Marina Srikandi boat’s captain, Yusuf Tobing, 52, and his three crew allegedly did not heed proper safety protocol when the boat departed from Amed, according to Merdeka.
Upon departure, the boat, carrying 34 passengers, had been leaking and was not properly equipped with buoys or life jackets for passengers, reports said.
One French tourist who had been on the ship, Joddy Adreean, 35, told Merdeka that water had been entering the boat as high as 20 centimeters.
“I asked the boat’s captain, ‘Why is there seawater in the boat?’ And the captain did not respond,” Merdeka quoted Adreean as saying.
The French tourist also noted that the boat seemed overloaded and that the boat already started to sink 10 minutes into the trip. As the boat started to sink, there were no instructions from the captain to jump ship.
Thankfully the boat was still near the beach as it went down and the passengers were able to swim to shore, but they were less than thrilled about all their soaked belongings getting washed out to sea, Adreean concluded.
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