Divers recover three more victims from capsized ferry Virgo Transport 8

More than a week after the ferry Virgo Transport 8 sank in the Java Sea, divers from Indonesia's search and rescue agency Basarnas are still working through the inverted wreck in search of victims. They recovered three more bodies on 22 September, bringing the number recovered to 18, of whom nine have been identified. More than 100 people remain missing and are believed to have gone down with the ship.

Virgo Transport 8 (IMO 8625179), an Indonesian-flagged ro-ro passenger ferry, lies upside down in the Masalembo waters. Progress has been slow. Earlier in the week a dive team found one body behind the glass of an exterior window in the side of the hull and broke through the glass to recover it. Other bodies were recovered from an open deck area, where they appeared to have been caught against a railing.

The divers have so far stayed out of the deeper parts of the structure. The interior is dark, the ship is inverted, and entering an enclosed space in these conditions carries its own hazards. Further dives were planned for 23 September, current and weather permitting.

The currents are the main constraint. The wreck lies in comparatively shallow water, within reach of conventional diving, but the site is south of the Makassar Strait and squarely in the Indonesian Throughflow, the system of ocean currents that carries water from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. Basarnas chief Mohammad Syafii said last week that "the currents at this specific site in the Java Sea could hit six to seven knots at peak, far above the normal safety threshold for divers."

The response agencies have considered righting and refloating the ship to allow a full search if diving proves insufficient. That would be an expensive and difficult operation, and no decision has been announced.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 25 September 2026.