Labuan Bajo restricts sailing in five Komodo waters

Labuan Bajo — The Labuan Bajo Class III Harbourmaster and Port Authority temporarily restricted tourism sailing in five Komodo National Park waters on Oct. 19, from 07:00 to 17:00 WITA (UTC+8), during the search-and-rescue operation for KM Feronia.

The notice applied to Batu Bolong, Mawan, Siaba Kecil, Siaba Besar and Tatawa Kecil. It asked ship captains to avoid those waters and suspend tourism activity during the stated period so the search could proceed.

Why it matters for visitors in Labuan Bajo

For foreign visitors, the restriction meant that boat-based tourism in the five named areas was not available during the validity period. The measure concerned sailing and tourist activity in designated waters, rather than a general closure of Labuan Bajo or the entire Komodo National Park.

The restriction was issued as KM Feronia’s search operation entered its seventh day. The vessel had sunk in waters near Tatawa Island, and search teams were looking for a missing person and the wreck. The notice identified the five areas covered by the temporary sailing restriction and set the hours on Oct. 19.

Search operations were scheduled to continue on Oct. 19 after an evaluation of the previous day’s efforts. Reports said the search had not yet produced a result by the evening of Oct. 18. The restriction was therefore limited to the date and hours stated in the harbourmaster notice.

Sources

• CNN Indonesia — national news organisation
• detikBali — regional news organisation
• flores.tribunnews.com
• metrotvnews.com