Singkep is an island in the Lingga Archipelago 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 oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Its area is . It is separated from the east coast of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

by the

Berhala Strait Berhala Strait is a strait which separates the island of Sumatra and Singkep in the Natuna Sea (South China Sea), Indonesia. Berhala island in the strait, attribution has been contested by Riau Islands and Jambi Jambi is a province of Ind ...

. It is surrounded by islands Posik to the west, I. Serak to the SW, I. Lalang to the South, and I. Selayar of

Riau Islands The Riau Islands () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia consisting of a group of islands located in the western part of the country. It was established in 2002 after being separated from the neighboring Riau Province. The capit ...

between Lingga and Singkep.

Transport

Singkep has two ports, Dabo near Dabosingkep and Jago near Sungaibuluh. Service to the port of

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 ...

on Bangka of

Bangka Belitung 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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

ceased operating regularly with the demise of the tin mining industry. However, a high-speed ferry continues to connect

Tanjung Pinang Tanjungpinang, also colloquially written as Tanjung Pinang, is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. It covers a land area of 144.56 km2, mainly in the southern part of Bintan Island, as well as other smaller islands ...

to Singkep, from where local boats may be chartered to Lingga. Singkep also has a small airport capable of handling small 40 passenger aircraft. Dabo Airport is located in Dabo, the biggest and main town in Singkep. It was very active during the tin mining operations. It is currently use by charter flights and the government patrol aircraft. Susi Air operates government subsidised passenger flights from Dabo to a variety of destinations, such as

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern side of Sumatra, Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay language, Malay (Indonesian language, Indonesian) word for 'new mar ...

Batam Batam, officially the City of Batam (, not to be confused with ''Batam Kota'', a kecamatan, district within this city), is the largest List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. The city administra ...

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of i ...

, and

Pangkal Pinang Pangkalpinang, colloquially written as Pangkal Pinang, also known as Pin-kong in Hakka, is the capital and largest city of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province in Indonesia. It is located on Bangka Island's east coast, the city is divided into ...

History

By secret agreement the Dutch allowed America and Britain access to deposits of

thorium Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...

on Pulau Singkep in August 1945 which was vital for nuclear processes. In 1999, the heavy-lift ship Mighty Servant 2 sunk in 35 meters of water near Singkep after striking a solitary, isolated and previously unmapped spire of granite.

Climate

References

External links

Singkep Community Website
Lingga Islands {{RiauIslands-geo-stub