Fact Check: Was This Video Recorded Aboard the Virgo 8 Before It Sank? - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video claimed to be footage of the KMP Virgo Transport 8 before it sank circulated on Facebook [archive], Instagram, and YouTube on September 15, 2026. Lasting less than a minute, the video shows the scene as seawater began to flood the ship's deck and passengers scrambled to put on life jackets. The video was reportedly recorded by one of the passengers.
The video circulated after the ship, which was sailing from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, foundered on Sunday, September 13, 2026, in the Masalembo waters of the Java Sea.
However, is the video truly footage recorded by a passenger of the KMP Virgo Transport 8 before it sank?
Tempo verified the content using a reverse image search and by consulting credible sources. The results indicate that the events in the video were recorded aboard the KMP Marina Bay on August 13, 2026, not the KMP Virgo Transport 8.
The video was first uploaded by a Facebook user named Asdianto Tariwoba. He posted several videos showing the KMP Marina Bay—which was sailing from Manado Port bound for Biaro and Tagulandang—being battered by extreme weather on August 13, 2026.
He recorded the situation before water entered the deck—the moment when all passengers were already wearing life jackets. At that time, the KMP Marina Bay had successfully anchored at Tagulandang Port.
The Instagram account @jufrikasumbala also reported that the KMP Marina Bay encountered strong winds and high waves in North Sulawesi waters on the same date.
The KMP Virgo Transport 8 departed from Surabaya Port bound for Banjarmasin Port on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at approximately 17:13 WIB (Western Indonesian Time). The vessel reportedly listed and lost contact in the waters near Masalembu on Sunday, September 13, 2026, around 02:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time). Its last known position was in the Java Sea, approximately 80 miles from Banjarmasin.
The vessel was carrying 243 people, comprising 30 crew members, 27 ship partners, 59 adult passengers, one child, and 126 drivers and their assistants. A total of 108 people were successfully evacuated, and six were confirmed dead, while hundreds of others remain the subject of an ongoing search operation.
The video claimed to be footage of KM Virgo Transport 8 passengers prior to the sinking is false.
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