The Port of Tanjung Api-Api is a seaport in

Banyuasin Regency Banyuasin Regency ( Musi: ) is a regency of South Sumatra Province in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific ocea ...

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

, Indonesia. Completed in 2007, it began passenger ferry operations to

Muntok Muntok () or, more commonly, Mentok is a town in the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung on the island of Sumatra. The capital of West Bangka Regency (''Bangka Barat''), it is the site of the biggest tin smelter on the world. Mentok refers t ...

in 2013, and cargo operations in 2019.

History

Historically, the city of

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

served as the primary seaport for southern Sumatra, the Musi River being wide enough to accommodate oceangoing vessels. However, due to limited ship weights caused by sandbanks in the river, plans had been made to develop a replacement port at Tanjung Api-Api since the 1930s during the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

era. After the provincial government of

also proposed the development of a port at Tanjung Api-Api in 2002, construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. In 2009

Syahrial Oesman Syahrial Oesman (born 25 May 1955) is an Indonesian politician currently of the Nasdem Party who served as the governor of South Sumatra between 2003 and 2008 and previously as regent of Ogan Komering Ulu Regency between 2000 and 2003. After his ...

, the governor during the construction period, was convicted of bribery related to the port's construction. He was found to have bribed several national legislators to ease the land acquisition process for the port. It was designed primarily as a passenger port to

Bangka Island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

to replace the existing ferry services in Palembang, with further plans to develop an industrial estate with railway connections. The port began passenger operations in late 2013. The port and 2,000 hectares of surrounding land was designated as a

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

in 2014. However, due to difficulties in land acquisition, the special status was revoked in 2022. It began cargo operations in 2019.

Services

Tanjung Api-Api is primarily served by

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

ferries to the

Port of Tanjung Kalian The Port of Tanjung Kalian is a seaport located in the town of Muntok, in West Bangka Regency of the Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia. It serves as both a cargo port and a passenger ferry port, connecting the island of Bangka to Sumatra throug ...

Bangka Belitung Islands The Bangka Belitung Islands (; Jawi: ) is a province of Indonesia. Situated off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, the province comprises two main land masses — the islands of Bangka and Belitung — and numerous smaller islands. Bangka B ...

. Ferry services utilize a single pier, although a second pier is expected to become operational in late 2022. In the sixteen day period around the

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

of 2022 alone, over 60,000 passengers crossed to Tanjung Api-Api from Muntok.

References

{{reflist Tanjung Api-Api Transport in South Sumatra