PADANG BAI

A traffic queue up to five kilometres long built up outside Padang Bai on Wednesday and Thursday, when port officials stopped ferries sailing to Lembar in Lombok because of high waves and strong winds in the Lombok Strait.

The 14-hour-plus shutdown was ordered on Wednesday afternoon when wind waves mid-strait were reported to be reaching three to four metres in height and wind speeds gusting up to 43 knots (86km/h). Visibility was also poor.

The port parking area soon filled with hundreds of trucks, buses, private cars and motorbikes queuing for ferries. The passenger terminal was crowded with hundreds of delayed passengers, including foreign tourists.

Ferry services recommenced on Thursday morning, when conditions improved, but ferry operators said they might cease again if the weather worsened.

Forecasters said rough seas and strong winds would continue until at least Saturday.

A cyclone off the north-western coast of Western Australia and an active monsoon trough to the south of Bali last week worsened seasonal weather conditions here.