The State News Agency ANTARA reports that a panel of judges at the Denpasar District Court has sentenced the captain of the *Bali Dolphin Cruise 2* local fast ferry to prison after finding him guilty of negligence that caused the deaths of three people – two Chinese nationals—Yu Hanqing and Shi Guohong, and a crew member, Kadek Adijaya Dinata.
Presiding Judge Syahbuddin sentenced the defendant, I Kadek Ariawan (28)—the vessel’s captain—to two years in prison. He was found criminally negligent in the capsizing of the boat at the entrance channel of the Sanur Beach Pier, South Denpasar, on 05 August 2025.
”The defendant is proven guilty of criminal negligence, causing the vessel he was commanding to capsize and sink, resulting in the deaths of three people,” the judge stated in delivering the verdict.
The judges’ verdict concurred with State Prosecutor I Ketut Yasa, who had earlier presented to the Court that the defendant had violated Article 474 paragraph (3) of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) and Law Number 1 of 2023 and Law Number 1 of 2026.
The sentence handed down by the judge was 1.5 years less than that demanded by State Prosecutors, who had sought a 3.5-year prison term.
The judges cited as mitigating factors that the defendant had conducted himself respectfully during the trial, freely admitted to his actions, and had been forgiven by the victims’ families. As further mitigation, the fast ferry company that employed Ariawan had provided compensation to the victims’ families.
The prosecution’s indictment presented to the Court stated that the ship’s captain had failed to properly verify or count the number of passengers before the vessel departed from Banjar Nyuh Port, Nusa Penida, bound for Sanur Pier.
Instead, the Captain had relied solely on a manifest listing 75 passengers, whereas the vessel was actually carrying 80 people—75 passengers and 5 crew members. Notably, five passengers were not listed on the manifest, with eight passengers accommodated on the ship’s bridge.
Upon entering the Sanur Port Channel on 05 August 2025 at around 3:30 pm, the defendant briefly reduced speed to wait for the waves to subside. Apparently deciding to enter the port before the large waves had fully passed, the vessel was struck from behind by a large wave, causing it to capsize and sink.
Prosecutors argued that the defendant—an experienced captain familiar with the wave conditions at Sanur Port—should have waited for a safe moment to enter the harbor.
Aggravating the Captain’s negligence, the vessel was found to be overloaded. According to the Vessel Safety Certificate, the *Bali Dolphin Cruise 2* was authorized to carry only 75 passengers including five crew members. Before sailing, the Captain had filed a false passenger manifest declaring the ship’s passenger numbers complied with its official sailing certificates.
This overloading compromised the vessel’s stability, making it more susceptible to capsizing when struck by large waves.
Post-mortem examinations carried out by the police indicated that all three victims showed signs of death by drowning.
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