Scores Feared Lost in Sinking of Java to Bali Ferry

KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya – an inter-island ferry carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew sailing from Ketapang, East Java, to Gilimanuk, West Bali, sank in rough seas in the early hours of Thursday, 03 July 2025

At 16 minutes past midnight, approximately one and a half hours after departing Ketapang, the ill-fated ship broadcast a “May Day Alert” seeking assistance due to the failure of its main engine and flooding its engine room.. Three minutes later, the ship experienced a “blackout,” having lost all electrical power.

Not long after, the ship capsized, sending passengers and numerous vehicles into the Bali Straits, as the upturned hull began drifting in a southerly direction.

Four Deaths Confirmed as Search Continues

By Thursday morning, Metro TV was reporting that those leading the search and rescue effort reported 23 rescued survivors and 4 deaths.

The ship’s manifest recorded 12 crew, 53 passengers, and 22 vehicles. The passenger list did not show any foreign nationals among those on board the KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya.