Zainuddin, 42, shows off his dragon fruit plants, damaged by flashfloods that hit Seneporejo village, Siliragung district, Banyuwangi regency, East Java, on Monday (13/2). The flooding, which reached 2.5 meters in height, inundated 108 houses in the districts of Siliragung and Bangorejo Banyuwangi from Saturday (11/2) to Sunday (12/2).
Maulluan, 30, can only daydream as he stares blankly toward the sea. In his heart, he harbors a desire to quickly sail way to sea, away from Boom Dock in Banyuwangi, East Java, to Sapeken Island.
He and his colleagues have been stuck at Boom for 11 days. They are unable to sail because of bad weather and high waves in the Java Sea.
Thursday (9/2) was the 11th day that the five crew members of the Bintang Timur motorized vessel (KM) had been moored at Boom Dock, Banyuwangi. They should already have been sailing to Sapeken Island, Sumenep, Madura, to deliver basic goods to the people on the small island.
There was little they could do with the sea being so unfavorable. The waves in the Bali and Madura straits, which were usually only half-to-1 meter high had reached 2 meters, and even higher. The conditions were unsafe for KM Bintang Timur, which is made of wood.
“I should already be on my second or third journey between Sapeken-Banyuwangi. However, because of the conditions, I have only made one trip from Sapeken to Banyuwangi. I’ve not been able to get home yet,” said Maulluan, sighing.
Maulluan and his crew arrived at Boom on Jan. 30. They were carrying 200 boxes of fish caught by Sapeken fishermen. From the catch they earned a profit of Rp 5 million. However, the result of their sweat has all been used up to pay for the cost of living at the dock.
One of Maulluan’s colleagues, Hairul Anam, 40, said that from the Rp 5 million profit, the crew members had only received Rp 400,000 each after the operational costs and vessel owner’s percentage had been deducted from the total profit.
Now, after 11 days, their money has run out after it was spent on basic needs, such as food, drinks and showers. They spend around Rp 50,000 a day, every day.
“Our profit has run out. The waves are high, our wallets are empty, captain,” Haurul said.
It is not only economic problems that the crew are facing. They are also increasingly uncomfortable staying for long in Banyuwangi. Maulluan’s mind has become restless after hearing news that his child has fallen ill on Sapeken Island.
Not alone
KM Bintang Timur is not the only logistics vessel stuck at Boom. There are four others also waiting for good weather to sail.
Rusdiono, 50, a porter, is also suffering financially because of the high waves. He has been forced to tighten his belt and borrow money so that his family does not suffer as well. The absence of vessels mooring and leaving Boom has made loading and unloading virtually non-existent.
Usually there is at least one vessel coming or going every day. Now, there are none whatsoever. Rusdiono has not worked for over a week. “I usually earn Rp 50,000 a day for my service as a porter. For the past week I have been without work. Now I need to be economical or I may be forced to borrow money,” he said.
Far from the dock, Lindawati, 52, sells basic commodities and vegetables at Banyuwangi city market and is also feeling the effect of the bad weather. She is now earning less from selling vegetables because some of them have gone bad.
The tomatoes, chilies and vegetables already packed in wooden baskets went bad before reaching Sapeken Island. The vessel, which is already carrying rice, flour, eggs, sugar, oil and various vegetables, had to be offloaded again. Some tomatoes, chilies and vegetables that are still fresh have been saved in the hope that they can be sold again in the market. Commodities that have gone bad are thrown away.
“Some tomatoes that I sent to the vessel have had to be brought back to be sold in the market,” Lindawati said.
Chair of the Banyuwangi office of the Indonesian Fishermen’s Association, Hasan Basri, said that in Muncar there were more or less 300 fishermen suffering a similar impact. Not going to sea for almost two weeks has forced the fishermen to sell some of their household appliances.
“This is for survival because there is absolutely no income,” he said.
The high waves have prompted the Tanjung Wangi port authority to prohibit ships under 1,000 gross tons from sailing. Tanjung Wangi port authority head Ugan Sugiana said that this policy had been implemented for safety reasons.
“Based on the information we received from the East Java Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, the height of the waves in the Java Sea has reached over 2 meters. We have banned ships with a capacity of under 1,000 GT from sailing since Monday [6/2] for an undetermined time frame,” he said.
The will of nature cannot be denied. Now the people that rely on sea transportation can only hope that the storms will soon pass so that they can return to making a living to survive.
