Implementation of Traffic Separation Scheme for Preventing Accidents on the Sunda Strait
Abstract
The study is aimed at proposing a solution for preventing ship accidents, ship collisions in particular, in Indonesia's busiest ferry crossing lane between Merak on Java Island and Bakauheni on Sumatera Island on the Sunda Strait, which intersects with the Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lane. The Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lane is provided by the Government of Indonesia, an archipelagic country, as an international passageway for ships sailing through Indonesian waters from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, by implementing a traffic separation scheme that regulates traffic proceeding in opposite or nearly opposite directions by means of a separation zone or line, traffic lane, etc. The study is motivated by records of fatal accidents that have taken place in the strait, and a portrait of the congested crossing lane is provided. The concept of a traffic separation scheme and its implementation in the Sunda Strait is simulated, with the conclusion that the scheme could minimize potential collisions between ships sailing through the strait. Therefore, it is urgent for the government to implement the scheme.