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Rough Seas in NTT Prompt Halt to Ferry Services
January 24, 2012

Rough seas. Fishing boats sitting anchored on the coast of Lasem in Rembang, Central Java, on Sunday. Bad weather and high waves have prevented fishermen from going out to sea. (Antara Photo) Rough seas. Fishing boats sitting anchored on the coast of Lasem in Rembang, Central Java, on Sunday. Bad weather and high waves have prevented fishermen from going out to sea. (Antara Photo)
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Tall waves and strong winds are forcing state ferry company ASDP to halt its services linking some islands in East Nusa Tenggara.

Warning of waves of 75 to 150 centimeters and winds blowing at 5 to 10 kilometers per hour, ASDP’s operations manager in Kupang, Arnold Yansen, said it was dangerous for ferries to serve long routes in such bad weather.

He said the Kupang-Rote route, which stretches for 40 nautical miles, had been halted because of dangerous seas in the Pukuafu Strait, which separates the islands of Timor and Rote.

“Because the sea conditions are unfriendly, we have decided to suspend the operations of the ferry to Rote,” Arnold said.

He added that the 120-nautical-mile ferry service linking Kupang to Lewoleba on Lembata island had also been halted.

Kupang is one of the transportation hubs for East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Meanwhile, Syaiful Hadi, the head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) chapter at El Tari Airport in Kupang, said that heavy rains and strong winds posed dangers to navigation in the province.

Satellite imaging, he said, showed waves in NTT waters reaching up to three meters in height and wind velocity of 15 to 40 kilometers an hour.

The bad weather, Syaiful said, is expected to continue for several days. He warned that in addition to posing danger to navigation, the heavy rains and strong winds could also damage houses and trees as well as trigger landslides and cause floods.

He said the high rain intensity and strong winds that were causing the high waves were due to a low pressure system forming in the north of Australia and southeast of Timor.

“We will continue to monitor the development of this low atmospheric depression north of Australia and southeast of Timor because this is what is causing the strong winds and the heavy rains and lightning strikes,” Syaiful said.

Rough seas as the country enters the peak of the rainy season have affected navigation in parts of the country beyond NTT.

Elsewhere, including on the coasts of Java, fishermen have been unable to go out in their ships because of the rough seas. In the latest sea mishap, nine people were feared drowned on Saturday after their speed boat sank in Maluku province.

The boat sank in rough seas just four nautical miles from the Maluku port of Tulehu on Ambon island. Eleven people were rescued and nine have remained missing and are feared dead, local officials said.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, relies heavily on boats for transportation between the many islands.

The nation has been bracing for a significant wet season, like those of 2007 and 2012, with many believing the cycle is set to go on.

Antara