Merak
Encyclopedia
Merak is a city and seaport in Cilegon
Cilegon
Cilegon is a major coastal industrial city in Banten province, Indonesia, covering 175.51 sqkm and has an official intercensal estimated population of 338,027 for 2007...

, Banten
Banten
Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...

, on the northwestern tip of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. The port and town are named after the Green Peafowl
Green Peafowl
The Green Peafowl or Javan Peafowl, Pavo muticus is a large Galliform bird that is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia...

, which once lived in the region, but is now very rare. The port is connected to Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

 via Jakarta-Merak Toll Road
Jakarta-Merak Toll Road
Tangerang–Merak Toll Road as a part of Trans-Java toll road is the second toll road to have been constructed in Indonesia, subsequent to the Jagorawi Toll Road in 1981. Operated by Marga Mandalasakti, the road connects Tangerang and Merak harbour, which further connects by ferry to Sumatra island...

.

History

In 1883, the original settlement was completely destroyed by a series of tsunamis generated by the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa began in May 1883 and culminated with the destruction of Krakatoa on 27 August 1883. Minor seismic activity continued to be reported until February 1884, though reports after October 1883 were later dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's investigation.-Early phase:In the years...

 in the Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...

. The largest wave at Merak was estimated to be at least 41m (135 ft) high, and approximately 2,700 people lost their lives, including virtually all of the town's inhabitants at that time.

Port operations

The port is a service provider for Indonesia's largest concentration of petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....

 facilities along the Merak peninsula. More than 40 petrochemical plants operate near the seaport, an increase from two in 1990. in 2007 Shell Oil
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

 announced plans to expand its Merak port operations with the construction of a $US52 million oil storage tank.

Domestic exports are handled by a busy ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 route from Merak to Bakauheni, across the Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...

 on the southern tip of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. The ageing ferry fleet and poor supporting infrastructure have been identified as restrictions on the port's domestic efficiency.
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