Indian-Ocean: INDONESIA - Clarification of West Coast Sea Conditions
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Clarification of West Coast Sea Conditions
According to local fishermen at Lampulo River Port in Banda Aceh, there are no problems accessing strategic sites along the West coast using reasonable sized local fishing boats. When the NW winds arrive at the beginning of March access to certain areas will be restricted at particular times, but local boats will continue to be operational most days. Larger boats (30MT) are making trips from Lampulo Port to Lhong, Lho Kruet, Calang, Lamno, Teunom and Meulaboh, and boats up to 80MT in size are able to service these routes. These boats can unload directly at Calang, Lamno and Meulaboh, though there have been some problems with sandbars.
Due to changes in the seabed caused by the tsunami, the depth at Teunom (previously 6m) is now 0.5 – 1.5m. Small boats (4MT) are used to transfer cargo from the larger boats to the land. A similar process occurs in Lhong and Lho Kruet, though in these places boats smaller than 4 MT must be used. In April and May the small boats must stay at sea overnight and then transfer cargo to land the next morning, before approximately 10 am when the wind picks up.
The approximate travel time from Lampulo Port Banda Aceh to each site is as follows:
|
Lhong |
3 hours |
|
Lamno |
6 hours |
|
Lho Kruet |
8 hours |
|
Calang |
10-12 hours |
|
Teunom |
14-16 hours |
|
Meulaboh |
16-18 hours |
