Singkep is an island in the

Lingga Archipelago The Lingga Regency ( id, Kabupaten Lingga) is a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Province on Sumatra island. They are south of the populated Riau Archipe ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Its area is . It is separated from the east coast of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

by the

Berhala Strait Berhala Strait is a strait which separates the island of Sumatra and Singkep in the South China Sea, Indonesia. Berhala island in the strait, attribution has been contested by Riau Islands and Jambi province. See also * List of straits Th ...

. It is surrounded by islands Posik to the west, I. Serak to the SW, I. Lalang to the South, and I. Selayar of

Riau Islands The Riau Islands ( id, Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping la ...

between Lingga and Singkep.

Transport

Singkep has two ports, Dabo near Dabosingkep and Jago near Sungaibuluh. Service to the port of

Muntok Muntok () or, more commonly, Mentok is a town in the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung on the island of Sumatra. The capital of West Bangka Regency (''Bangka Barat''), it is the site of the biggest tin smelter on the world. Mentok refers to ...

on Bangka of Bangka Belitung and

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

South Sumatra South Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Selatan) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southeast of the island of Sumatra, The province spans and had a population of 8,467,432 at the 2020 Census. The capital of the province is Palembang. The pro ...

ceased operating regularly with the demise of the tin mining industry. However, a high-speed ferry continues to connect

Tanjung Pinang Tanjungpinang, also written as Tanjung Pinang, is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. It covers a land area of 144.56 km2, mainly on the southern Bintan Island, as well as other smaller islands such as Dompak Island ...

to Singkep, from where local boats may be chartered to Lingga. Singkep also has a small airport capable of handling small 40 passenger aircraft.

Dabo Airport Dabo Airport is a domestic airport located at Dabo, the largest town in Singkep Island, Lingga Regency, Riau Islands province. It serves Dabo and surrounding areas. It has some facilities like other airports. Dabo Airport serves ATR 72, ATR 42, ...

is located in Dabo, the biggest and main town in Singkep. It was very active during the tin mining operations. It is currently use by charter flights and the government patrol aircraft. Susi Air operates government subsidised passenger flights from Dabo to a variety of destinations, such as

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...

Batam Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the cor ...

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...

, and

Pangkal Pinang Pangkal Pinang is the capital and largest city of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province in Indonesia. It is located on Bangka Island's east coast, the city is divided into seven districts (''kecamatan'') and has 42 wards (''kelurahan''). It c ...

History

By secret agreement the Dutch allowed America and Britain access to deposits of

Thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high me ...

on Pulau Singkep in August 1945 which was vital for nuclear processes. In 1999, the heavy-lift ship

Mighty Servant 2 ''Mighty Servant 2'' was a 29,000-ton semi-submersible, heavy-lift ship operated by Dockwise. The ship drew worldwide attention in 1988 for transporting the mine-damaged from Dubai to Newport, Rhode Island. The ship was built in 1983 by Oshima ...

sunk in 35 meters of water near Singkep after striking a solitary, isolated and previously unmapped spire of granite.

References

External links

Singkep Community Website
Lingga Islands Landforms of the Riau Islands Islands of Sumatra {{RiauIslands-geo-stub