Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned ferry company PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) will operate 26 passenger ships and 44 ships for pioneer routes during the Eid al-Fitr homecoming period, according to a company official.
PT Pelni's Director of Passenger Ships, Yahya Kuncoro, stated that the passenger ships are expected to cater to a total of 49,267 passengers, comprising 32,447 passengers on passenger ships and 16,820 passengers on pioneer routes.
"Pelni will ensure that all passenger ships operated for the Eid homecoming are seaworthy, as the ships have all been docked earlier," Kuncoro noted in his statement here on Thursday.
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The director remarked that the company will commence the Eid homecoming transport on April 17, some 15 days before Eid al-Fitr.
The company has forecast that Batam-Belawan, Kumai-Semarang, Makassar-Surabaya, Balikpapan-Surabaya, Balikpapan, Makassar, and Makasar-Bau Bau routes would be among the busiest during the period, he pointed out.
"To anticipate passenger surge in those routes, the company has applied for a permit on the ship route and schedule adjustment to the Transportation Ministry to ensure that passengers on the route could be accommodated before Eid al-Fitr," Kuncoro remarked.
Moreover, the director confirmed that passengers, who received their COVID-19 booster vaccine, were free to travel without the COVID-19 test certificate requirement.
Passengers, who have received only their first vaccine dose, will be required to provide a COVID-19 PCR test certificate obtained at least three days before travel, while passengers, who have received their second vaccine dose, will need to provide the results of either a COVID-19 PCR test or a COVID-19 antigen test performed one day before travel, the director expounded.
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Passengers are also required to log their trip on the COVID-19 contact tracing mobile application PeduliLindungi as a prerequisite for their travel, and child travellers below six years of age are allowed to join the travel with their parents while adhering to health protocols, he added.
"We encourage passengers to observe health protocols and refrain from speaking with each other or through phone calls during the cruise," Kuncoro stated.
He also confirmed that the sale of tickets for the homecoming period had commenced on Saturday (Apr 2) through online means.
"The ticket purchasing process is served by a cashless payment system that will make transactions easier, more practical, and adhere to health protocols by reducing physical contacts," the director remarked.
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