On November 29, the 23 meter long, 100 dwt passenger ferry Sea Prince struck an object near the Nongsapura ferry terminal. The Sea Prince had departed with 97 passengers and 7 crew when it struck a floating object off Batam.  Passengers stated they hear a loud bang and then a sound of something scraping against the hull.

The Sea Prince tried to continue on its journey, but the ferry lost power. Passengers were ordered to don life vests and to evacuate to the vessel’s life rafts, but the life rafts tore and began to sink.  The Sea Prince requested assistance and another ferry attempted to come to their aid. However, the water was too shallow for the ferry to get close to the Sea Prince.  Small wooden boats were able to reach the Sea Prince. All the passengers were transferred to the small boats and taken ashore. No reports of injuries. Indonesian authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.