A cargo ship hit an Indonesian fishing boat in the sea north of Bintan island early on Friday, 30 October 2026. Bintan is in Indonesia's Riau Islands, close to Singapore. The fishing boat is called KM Kawal Jaya 9. It had 14 crew on board.
Thirteen crew are safe. One crew member is missing, the search and rescue (SAR) office in Tanjungpinang said. The state news agency Antara published the statement on 31 October.
What happened
The collision happened at 04:23 local time, before sunrise. It was in the waters north of Berakit, a village on the north coast of Bintan. The SAR office got the report through its communication centre.
The SAR office described the other ship as a cargo ship from Singapore. In its statement, it did not name the ship. It also did not say what caused the collision.
The missing fisherman is 51 years old and lives in Bintan. He jumped into the sea at the time of the collision, the head of the SAR office, Fazzli, said. The other 13 crew stayed with the boat. The damaged boat was towed to Kawal port in Bintan with them on board. It arrived at about 09:00 local time, Liputan6 reports.
The search
Rescuers are searching the area around the collision. It is about 46 nautical miles from their base. Teams from the SAR office, the marine police, the navy post in Berakit and other agencies take part. Local fishermen are helping too, VOI reports.
The rescuers use a rigid inflatable boat (RIB), a fast rubber boat with a hard bottom. On 31 October the fisherman had still not been found, Pantau reports. Crewboard will update this post when there is news.
What crews can learn
The waters around Bintan and Singapore are some of the busiest in the world. Big ships and small fishing boats often meet there, also at night. These simple steps can prevent a collision or save a life.
On the bridge, keep a full lookout by eye, by radar and by listening. This is Rule 5 of COLREGs, the international rules for preventing collisions at sea.
Small wooden fishing boats are hard to see on radar. Many have no AIS (Automatic Identification System) and weak lights. Before dawn, look and listen with extra care.
Act early and clearly. Slow down or change course in good time when a small boat is close.
After a collision, the master must help the other boat and its crew if this is safe. The master must also give the ship's name and port. This duty is in Article 98 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Report every collision at once to the nearest rescue centre or port authority. In Indonesia, this is Basarnas, the national search and rescue agency.
Fishing crews should wear a lifejacket on deck, especially at night. If you go into the water, a lifejacket keeps you floating until help comes.
Cover photo: Fishermen on wooden fishing boats with nets and floats on Bintan, Indonesia, in April 2012. The photo is illustrative and does not show the Kawal Jaya 9 or its crew. Photo: Nicolas Lannuzel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Sources: Antara Kepri, 31 Oct 2026: Tim SAR cari korban tabrakan kapal di perairan Bintan (SAR team searches for a victim of a ship collision in Bintan waters), VOI, 31 Oct 2026: Ship Collision in Bintan Waters, Joint SAR Team Looking for Victims, Liputan6, 31 Oct 2026: Tabrakan KM Kawal Jaya 9 vs kapal kargo di laut Bintan, 1 ABK hilang, Pantau, 31 Oct 2026: Kapal kargo Singapura tabrak KM Kawal Jaya 9 di perairan Bintan, satu awak hilang dan 13 orang selamat.
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