The ferry Layar Nusa grounded shortly after 03:00 on 28 September, about 4.5 km (2.8 miles) from Ketapang port in East Java, while crossing to Gilimanuk on Bali. Passengers waited for as long as nine hours as crews moved them to other vessels, according to a review released on Sunday by the Strait Navigation Review Unit.
The review says the ferry followed an electronic chart that showed a navigable channel where a shallow bank lay. A survey found the bank’s plotted position was 1.4 km (0.9 miles) off. Review head Gizela Rožlapa said investigators had not found evidence of a steering failure or deliberate deviation by the crew.
The wrong line on the chart
The review began two days after the grounding, when the ferry operator reported a mismatch between its chart and the water depth recorded by the crew. Investigators compared the electronic route file with a fresh seabed survey and measurements from navigation markers. Nine of 22 markers checked were also displaced from their charted positions, by between 300 metres (985 feet) and 1.4 km (0.9 miles).
The route file had been updated in 2024 using measurements converted from an older mapping reference, the review says. That conversion placed a stretch of the channel too far east. The chart continued to circulate to operators after the update, while the marker positions were not checked against the revised data.
The vessel followed the approved route, but the route did not match the seabed.
Gizela Rožlapa, review head
The ferry carried 143 passengers and 21 crew members. Two passengers told the review they had been moved to another boat before sunrise; the remaining passengers were transferred in stages as other ferries arrived. The vessel remained grounded until crews refloated it later that day. No injuries or fuel spills were reported.
Repairs and route checks
Cody Schuster, a passenger travelling with relatives, said the cabin lights stayed on and crew members gave regular updates, but people were anxious as the first transfer boats pulled alongside. “We could see land, but we had no idea when we would get off,” he said. He reached Ketapang shortly before noon.
The Archipelago Transport Ministry has suspended use of the affected electronic route file and ordered checks on 18 ferry corridors by 20 October. Port manager Heer Acharya said ferries were using printed depth charts and visual marker checks until new digital files were issued. The ministry has set aside Rp4.6 billion (about €270,000) for fresh surveys and replacement markers.
Rožlapa said the review had not determined whether the chart conversion alone caused the grounding; investigators are still examining the ship’s recorded position and the tide at the time. The unit recommended that operators receive a dated notice whenever route data changes, and that each update be checked against a physical survey before use.
The Bali Strait crossing links Java and Bali, carrying passengers and goods on a route where ferries run through the night. The ministry said the remaining corridors would be checked in order of traffic volume, with the busiest routes inspected first. It expects revised charts for the Ketapang-Gilimanuk passage to be issued within seven days.
