REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TANJUNGPINANG -- Thick haze kept paralyzed the Tanjungpinang's seaport of Sri Bintan Pura since Friday morning, as a result of which ferryboats failed to transport thousands of passengers to Batam Island.
Around 1,000 would be passengers of Ferry Baruna and Ferry Marina are now stuck at the entrance of the Sri Bint an Pura port, Antara learned here on Friday.
"Starting from 9.45 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB), ferryboats were not allowed to sail due to the thick haze," said Titin, a ticket sales person at the Sri Bintan Pura port.
Normally, Ferry Baruna and Ferry Marina sail to Batam every 15 minutes, she said.
The ticket for Baruna Ferryboat costs Rp62,000, while for Ferry Marina, it costs Rp57,000.
More than 12 departures were cancelled due to the closure of the Sri Bintan Pura port.
In addition, the "roll-on roll-off (roro)" ships from the Telaga Punggur port to Tanjung Uban in Bintan Island also could not sail since Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded a total of 2,742 hotspots of forest, peatland and plantation fires across Indonesia on Thursday, including 703 hotspots in South Sumatra, 36 in Riau, and 23 in Bangka Belitung.
"Thick haze is still shrouding Sumatra, Kalimantan and parts of Papua," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the BNPB stated in Jakarta on Oct. 23, 2015.
The haze has also affected Singapore and certain parts of Malaysia and Thailand. Therefore, the Indonesian government decided to accept offers put forth by Malaysia and Singapore to help fight the wildfires.
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