Deconstructing the “Kolam Susu” Complacency: A Critical Review on the Urgency of On-Board Meteorological Equipment for Navigation Safety in Indonesia

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_3How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Maritime Safety; SOLAS Chapter V; Meteorological Equipment; Weather Complacency; Indonesia Shipping Act; Navigation Safety

Abstract

Popularized by a legendary national song, the phrase “Kolam Susu” (Ocean of Milk) has unintentionally fostered a deeply ingrained complacency among Indonesian seafarers, under the assumption that domestic tropical waters are inherently calm and safe. However, recurring maritime casualties caused by sudden, localized extreme weather events paint a starkly different and tragic reality. This literature review addresses a critical safety blind spot in the Indonesian maritime sector: the widespread absence of functional meteorological equipment aboard domestic commercial and passenger vessels. Despite explicit mandates under SOLAS Chapter V (Regulation 5), IMO guidelines, and Indonesia’s Shipping Act No. 17 of 2008, a majority of domestic vessels still operate without essential weather-tracking instruments. Consequently, crews remain passive and vulnerable consumers of macro-level shore forecasts rather than active contributors to real-time, localized marine observation. By synthesizing global legal frameworks, national regulations, and maritime accident case studies, this paper deconstructs the structural and cultural roots of this weather complacency. The analysis emphasizes that rapid convective atmospheric shifts in archipelagic waters require immediate, vessel-level tracking that cannot be replaced by distant land-based data. This study serves as an urgent advocacy campaign to revitalize meteorological consciousness among regulators, shipowners, and operators. Ultimately, equipping domestic vessels with proper meteorological tools is not a financial or bureaucratic burden; it is an indispensable life-insurance mechanism and a statutory requirement to ensure true seaworthiness (kelaiklautan) in Indonesian waters.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ricky Daniel Aror
AU  - Sujantoko Sujantoko
AU  - Lydia Monika
AU  - Yustiani Frastika
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/16
TI  - Deconstructing the “Kolam Susu” Complacency: A Critical Review on the Urgency of On-Board Meteorological Equipment for Navigation Safety in Indonesia
BT  - Proceedings of the  International Conference on Advanced Maritime Interconnection (ICAMI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 23
EP  - 32
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_3
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_3
ID  - Aror2026
ER  -