THE ship Baruna Jaya 8 was sailing east of Peleng-Bengkalan islands, Central Sulawesi. The vessel owned by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) turned northward. Next on the voyage the ship turned northwest to Gorontalo Bay.

Baruna Jaya was then directed northward until it reached the south coast of North Sulawesi peninsula. From this point the ship was redirected southwest and turned northwest again. The destination was the Togean Island