A Sailors Practical Guide to Sorong

Below is a map of Sorong where I have marked all the places we found useful doing our stay here, from Immigration Office to water and food shops. Click on the icons to see details. Red is boat related and refills, blue is formalities and Green is Food. Hope it is helpful!

Anchorage

00°52.906’S 131°15.189’E

The most convenient anchorage is found west of the Marina in 15-20m, with easy shore access and close to both Diesel and Water.

We found that the ground felt a bit rubbly and in the first squall (which blew from the south) we dragged a little, then stopped and bit. In the following 5 days we had no issue, but made sure to be onboard whenever a squall came through.

Water

Non-drinking water is available by hose (which should be there already) on the dock next to where you park the dinghy, if you ask the workers on the dock nicely
We were able to fill up directly into our dinghy, saving the carrying.

Drinking water (reverse osmoses) can be purchased from the Kiosk/store next to the Mosque at 5000 IDR/ per 20L jury can as of FEB 2022.

Fuel

Diesel and Petrol is available at Pertamina west of the long jetty. In January 2022 the price was 9700 per Liter of Dexlite.

LPG Gas

It is possible to get your gas bottle refilled by Warwick who runs the Marina up the river, but we got the strong impression that he prefers that you do it yourself.

Gas refilling hose for Indonesian to Australian bottle

You can buy the fittings from Pak Viktor Saputra for a price of about 500,000 IDR. His WhatsApp is +628124833831
It comes with a hose, but it is only water-grade and I would highly recommend that you purchase a bit of proper gas hose and fit that! Gas hose is cheap and available at most hardware stores.

For any engineering jobs, Viktor’s workshop is well worth a visit.

You can swap your Indonesian gas bottles 5L and 12L at the Pertamina shop on the water. Swapping a 5L bottle is about 150,000 IDR.

Food

Saga, a big Supermarket, is within walking distance. Apparently, if you spent more than a 100 dollars, you get a free ride back to the Marina with your groceries. Personally I prefer getting my food at the local Market. But Saga is the place for non-perishables and highly processed food and sugary candy.

The Remu Market is a 5000 IDR Angkot (minibus) ride away. It is huge and has both vegetables, fish, clothes and stuff available, including many Papuan crafts, such as Billums, clothes, scarfs and jewelry.
Bargaining can be necessary, but all in all, the prices are very fair and the produce beautifully fresh.
There is also a few hardware stores and a good fishing store in the same area.

bOAT rEPAIRS AND sPARE pARTS

There are two people in Sorong, I know of that I think you should know of, if you need any boat related work done or need help with finding spare parts.
The first person is Warwick Alliston who runs Helena Marina in Wamon River which has haul out facilities and boat storage.
wick.eon@gmail.com

The second person is Viktor Saputra, whom I mentioned can provide LPG fittings. Viktors engineering workshop is one of the most extensive we have seen yet.
WhatsApp is +628124833831

Both are very helpful!

Immigration

The Immigration Office is a 5000 IDR Bemo ride away, on the way to the Remu market. It is open Monday to Friday and closed for lunch.
I have been here in 2015 and 2022 and a lot has changed! It is all in all a very professional and efficient office, the officials are friendly and speak good English.
As always I would recommend dressing formally, long pants, shirt and shoes, to make a good impression, and bring your folder of complete paperwork.

The fee, like it should be everywhere is 500,000 IDR per passport and is payed into the immigration Office account through the bank or post office. From the day of payment the processing of your extension takes 3 working days. Bring receipt of payment when you go to pick it up.

Paperwork we were asked for

Passports
Copies of Passport Photo
Visas
Crew-list with stamps and signature (if you have boat stamp)
AIS position with picture and coordinates of anchorage in Sorong – we took a picture of our Chart Plotter. You can send it to an official via WhatsApp if you can not print it.

Park Fees

Unfortunately we meet lots of people who think they should not have to pay a fee to sail around Raja Ampat. But even if there is a lot of improvements needed to make a sustainable park, it is a fee payed for the conservation of one of the most important marine parks in the world. If we want proper protection of the reef here, we need to be a part of creating an economy around sustainable tourism to replace the economy which for so long have come from fishing. So please consider to be reasonable.

The fee is 700,000 IDR per person and gives you a sailing permit in all of Raja Ampat for 12 months. It is well worth the money!

Since the beginning of Covid the office have been closed in Sorong. Currently the pass can be purchased in Waisai or by email.

Check this link for online purchase and information about the purpose of the pass. https://rajaampatmarinepark.com/entry-card/

If you are coming up from the south, you will most likely pass through Misool first, which is apart of Raja Ampat. We were visited by very friendly rangers checking if we had a pass, which we did not yet. It is no issue to explain that you are on your way to get it in Sorong.

Be aware that there are various areas within Raja Ampat asking for local fees on top of the Conservation pass.
And at Wayag the Rangers are asking for as much as 1,000,000 IDR per boat. This is irrelevant of the size of your boat, people onboard and weather you are commercial or not.
This fee covers Wayag and a few other surrounding islands, such as Kawe.

These local fees are seen as a compensation for the locals not being able to fish the conservation area. It is an attempt to build an income from tourism rather than exploitations of endangers species.
However, since every village work independently and all want to get their share, it has resulted in many fees and Raja Ampat becoming quite expensive.

Consider all these factors and base your decision on your own morale.

Enjoy!

For our list of anchorages in Raja Ampat CLICK HERE

For information on Phone Signal in Raja Ampat, refer to our Route Map HERE