Born on September 18, 1953, in Surabaya, Oentoro Surya used to work at a warehouse near the port. Through the consistent support of his family, he founded PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line (APOL), which is now publicly listed on the Surabaya stock market. Starting from one log-carrying vessel in the 1970s, APOL now has a fleet of 88 ships carrying bulk cargo. Oentoro is an alumnus of the School of Commerce, Waseda University, in Japan.