A video of a ferry capsizing at a port in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province in 2021 has been viewed thousands of times in social media posts that falsely claimed it shows an accident near the popular resort island of Bali. The local port authority office told AFP there have been no recent reports of a vessel capsizing in the Bali Strait.
“A ferry from Banyuwangi to Bali is tilting. Almost sinking,” read the Indonesian-language caption of a Facebook video shared on September 26, 2024.
Banyuwangi, at the easternmost tip of Indonesia’s East Java province, and Bali are separated by the Bali Strait. To reach Bali, travellers can take a ferry from Banyuwangi’s Ketapang port to Bali’s Gilimanuk port (archived links here and here).
The minute-long video, which was viewed more than 14,000 times, shows people rushing to a pier where a ferry is tilting dangerously to one side. The footage is repeated three times.
Similar posts were also shared on Instagram, Threads and YouTube.
The video, however, was not filmed in either Banyuwangi or Bali.
The local port authority office in East Java province, which oversees the Ketapang port, told AFP on October 2 there have been no recent reports of vessels capsizing in the area.
“There have been no such incidents at the Ketapang-Gilimanuk crossing,” the office said. It added that “it’s clear” the pier in the false posts are different from the ports in Banyuwangi and Bali.
West Kalimantan port
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage used in a report by local broadcaster Kompas TV from February 20, 2021 (archived link).
The report, posted on the broadcaster’s verified YouTube channel, is titled, “Crossing Motor Boat ‘Bili’ Capsized at Perigi Piai Pier, Sambas”.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video used in the false post (left) and the Kompas TV report (right):
The report says the boat capsized when it was docked and passengers were disembarking at Perigi Piai, in Sambas Regency, West Kalimantan province on February 20, 2021.
According to the transportation ministry, there were no casualties from the incident (archived link).
The incident was also covered in reports by Kumparan and state-owned news agency Antara (archived links here and here).
The footage matches images of Perigi Piai port, which is also known as “Perigi Piyai”, on Google Maps (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the Google Maps image (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP:
AFP has previously debunked false claims about boat accidents near Bali here and here.
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