On the early hours of 27 August 2011, she capsized off the coast of Kolaka after the Captain ordered everyone to abandon ship.

Investigation by National Transportation Safety Committee concluded that the sinking was caused by the entry of water through a cleft located beneath the ship's rudder.

Bumi Lintas Tama, a ferry company based in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

As everything was set, she departed Bajo at 14:50 local time, enroute to Kolaka, with an average speed of 8 knots.

[1] At 19:00 local time, the weather condition started to deteriorate as waves began to reach a height of 2 – 3 meters, with a direction from the east to the west.

As the ship's Captain received the information, he immediately asked the crews to be prepared in case of an emergency and ordered the Chief Officer to investigate.

[1] As the Chief Officer arrived at the main deck, he further discovered that the water had risen to a height of 30 cm.

The captain then asked his fellow crew members on the main deck to check on the ship's steering room.

[1] By 23:30 local time, the water had reached a height of nearly 1 meter high and the angle of the list increased.

Crew members reported that water had submerged the motor of the steering engine, causing it to fail.

In an attempt to beach the ship onto the islands, the captain decided to use the main engine in reverse mode.

The helmsman then immediately asked the captain to stop his action as this caused even more water to enter the ship.

In the next five minutes the ship had completely capsized and eventually sank, resting at a depth of 60 m, approximately 10 nautical miles southwest of Kolaka.

[6] Approximately at 00:40 local time, officials in Bajo began to inform the capsizing on crews from ships near the area.

[1] Indonesian Red Cross and search and rescue team dispatched two helicopters to scour the area for survivors.

[7] According to the manifest obtained from the port master, there were 57 passengers, 20 crew members and 25 vehicles aboard the ship.

The water had surpassed the height of the motor and the engine in Section B of the steering wheel control room, damaging the electric hydraulic pump.

The centrifugal force due to the ship's turning caused the starboard to sink, increasing the hydrostatic pressure of the leaking water.

Water had also managed to enter from an existing cleft located between the ship's moveable rampway and vehicle deck.

The operator left a cleft between the ramp and the deck, which acted as hinges, located above the No.4 void space.

Simulation conducted by investigators confirmed the presence of free surface effect which caused the ship to capsize immediately.

Prior to its sinking, the Captain had ordered the passengers and crew members to move their vehicles so that the ship would stay afloat.

[1] During the capsizing, the crew members were noted for their poor crowd control as several panicking passengers immediately abandoned the ship.

[1] Investigators concluded that the sinking was caused by the loss of the ship's stability due to a significant free surface effect.

Faulty construction, maintenance failure and crew members error were included as contributing factors of the sinking.