Indonesian Government News

UK-based Submarine Manufacturing and Products (SMP) will provide its new submarine rescue system (SRS) to the Indonesian Navy.The SRS will be hosted on a mothership designed by independent design and engineering consultancy Houlder and delivered by its Indonesian strategic partner, BTI Defence.The three-year build contract will include the UK design and manufacture of the SRS, centered around SMP's new SRV-F Mk3 rescue submersible. The custom build of the mothership will take place in region…

Indonesia's state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said on Friday that together with the energy ministry it was strengthening a coal delivery monitoring system to ensure enforcement of domestic sales rules and energy security.The world's biggest thermal coal exporter introduced an export ban on Jan. 1 as coal inventories at local power plants were at critically low levels, amid low compliance with a so-called Domestic Market Obligation (DMO).Under the DMO, miners must sell 25% of their output to the local market with a price cap of $70 per tonne for power plants…

Chinese thermal coal futures fell on Tuesday after Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, eased a ban on overseas shipments that surprised buyers at the start of the year, alleviating concerns about supply disruptions.The export ban was introduced after state power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) reported critically low coal stockpiles amid complaints miners were not fulfilling their responsibilities to supply fuel to the company. Driven by concerns about the impact to their economies which depend on coal-fired power generation…

Indonesia will allow a boat packed with Rohingya which had become stranded off its coast to dock in the Southeast Asian country, its security ministry said on Wednesday, after calls from aid organizations to allow the vessel to seek refuge.Local officials in Aceh, a province on the western island of Sumatra said on Tuesday that they would provide the roughly 120 passengers on board with food, medicine and water, but would not allow them to seek refuge in Indonesia, despite international pleas to do so."Today…

Indonesia offshore vessel operator Wintermar has secured five-year contracts for two of its offshore support vessels with an unnamed multinational oil and gas firm in Indonesia.Under the contracts, the two Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels will support production at an oil field off the northern coast of East Java.The vessels will support an FPSO unit in a producing field. The total contract value is $22 Million. As at May 24, Wintermar's contract backlog stood at $76.7 million. Sugiman Layanto, Managing Director of PT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk said:"This long-term contract underlines the Indonesian government commitment to invest heavily to raise the country's output of oil and gas after some years of decline.

DP World and Indonesia’s leading conglomerate Maspion Group have signed two preliminary agreements to create a $1.2 billion container port and industrial logistics park in East Java.It is the first joint venture of its kind in the Indonesian transportation sector involving a private sector partnership between an FDI partner and a private sector Indonesian company in Maspion, within the context of cooperation in maritime services with the state-owned maritime services operator Pelindo III. Two term sheet agreements aim to create a modern, integrated container terminal and industrial logistics park, expected to play a vital role as a trade gateway for Eastern Java.It includes cooperation in setting up Maspion International Container Port in Gresik…

Dutch dredging and heavylift company Royal Boskalis Westminster has been awarded two dredging contracts in Indonesia.On the island of Sulawesi, Boskalis will expand the Makassar New Port container terminal and on the island of Java it will prepare land for a new petrochemical complex. Both projects will be executed in the second half of 2019 and carry a combined value of approximately EUR 75 million.The first project, awarded by construction company PT PP, entails the expansion of a new terminal for the Makassar New Port of port operator PT Pelindo IV by 45 hectares. The dredging scope includes the removal of soft clay followed by land…

The six activists who were detained for 33 hours on board a shipment carrying dirty palm oil into Europe have been released by Spanish authorities in Algeciras.The Greenpeace International volunteers climbed onto the Stolt Tenacity tanker at dawn on Saturday, and delayed its journey from Indonesia to The Netherlands for almost two days.The climbers were protesting a 185-metre long cargo loaded with palm oil products from Wilmar, the biggest palm oil trader in the world, which trades in palm oil associated with rainforest destruction.Wilmar is a major supplier to global snack food giant Mondelez, one of the world’s largest buyers of palm oil…

Chevron will exit the Makassar Strait gas block in the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) offshore natural gas project to focus on more promising areas in the venture, Indonesian officials said on Wednesday.Indonesia's energy minister had issued a decree terminating Chevron's Makassar Strait production sharing contract (PSC) after it decided not to extend its operation of the block beyond 2020, upstream oil and gas regulator SKKMigas said."Chevron was not interested in requesting an extension," SKKMigas chairman Amien Sunaryadi told reporters.

DP World and Indonesian government and port officials signed an agreement to advise on the development of the Kuala Tanjung greenfield port and logistics zone and Belawan port in North Sumatra. As part of a Technical Assistance Contract, DP World will share its expertise and experience in increasing efficiencies, training and development for employees and developing multi-modal transport hubs. The agreement was signed by DP World Group Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Anil Wats and state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I President Director, Bambang Eka Cahyana. The event was also attended by Indonesian Minister of State Owned Enterprises Rini M Soemarno, Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE, Husein Bagis and senior DP World officials.

Damen Shipyards Group recently visited Adelaide to further consolidate their partnership with ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs Marine and Defence (Forgacs) (ASC Forgacs Shipbuilding) to build twelve Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Australian Navy and to explore domestic and export opportunities for both the commercial and naval markets. Roland Briene, Damen’s Area Director Asia Pacific, also highlighted two important milestones for Damen in Australia: the 5th anniversary of Damen’s Australian company, Damen Services Brisbane, and the intention to establish a second long-term service hub in support of the SEA 1180 program. Damen, as one of the three designers competing for the OPV program, is fully committed to consolidating their commitment to Australia.

POSCO Daewoo has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to supply shipbuilding materials worth US$150 million to Penataran Angkatan Laut (PT PAL), Indonesia’s largest state-run shipbuilder, according to a report in Business Korea. Under the contract, the Korean trading company will supply engines and other parts necessary for shipbuilding, and its partner PT PAL is going to build 10 patrol boats and one combat support ship with the provided materials before delivering them to Indonesian ministries including the Indonesian Navy and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The 11 ships will be taken over by the Indonesian government once they are built.

The Indonesian Government has banned vessels flying Indonesias flag from sailing to the Philippines following the latest hostage incident. According to a report in AP,  Indonesia said, a halt on coal shipments to the Philippines will remain in place until Manila can secure its waters after seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped, the latest in a string of abductions. The ruling was issued after the government confirmed the Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this week, and were being held hostage. The growing frequency of maritime attacks by Islamist militants is for the first time affecting coal trade between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

Indonesian navy officials detained a Chinese boat along with seven Chinese crew members for allegedly fishing in Indonesian maritime territory in the disputed South China Sea region, Ap reported quoting Indonesia's navy spokesman. The Indonesian warship KRI Imam Bonjol-383 responded to a report from maritime air surveillance officials that 12 foreign fishing boats were illegally working in the Natuna Sea, First Admiral Edi Sucipto said. The navy's warships spotted the China-flagged Yueyandong Yu 19038 fishing boat in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during a naval exercise on Friday. An EEZ is a zone extending 200 nautical miles…

Ten Indonesian tugboat crewmen held by the Abu Sayyaf terror gang in the southern Philippines were freed unharmed Sunday. The sailors arrived in Jakarta late on Sunday night, hours after they were released from captivity. They arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, East Jakarta, at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday using Jet Victoria News aircraft. Indonesia paid no ransom to free the sailors taken hostage, with efforts relying on negotiations, the lead Indonesian negotiator claimed on Monday. They were welcomed by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and the National Armed Forces Chief General Gatot Nurmantyo. “All crew members will be taken to hospital for medical examination,” Retno said Sunday, May 1, 2016 before adding that the victims would be returned to their family after the examination.

French wheat exports to Indonesia are on hold as traders await the approval of a food safety agreement between the two countries, something exporters say is being delayed by Indonesia in retaliation against a French palm oil tax plan. A farm ministry official from Indonesia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, said the delay was a procedural one, and denied any link to the proposed tax. France's additional tax on palm oil, due to come into force next year, is billed as an environmental levy on a product associated with deforestation and other environmental damage. The delay to exports from the European Union's largest grain exporter was on the agenda of France's Secretary of State for Trade Matthias Fekl when he travelled to Indonesia earlier this month.

The Indonesian government is expected to start operation of a new online system at the country’s four major ports in September this year. The operation of the long awaited Inaportnet system, which will allow traders to request clearances and permits online to move cargoes will be operational by September this year, according to the Transportation Ministry's sea transportation director general, Bobby Mamahit. Tanjung Priok port has already operated the system since last year and it is expected to be integrated into the country’s three other main seaports, namely Belawan in North Sumatra, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Tanjung Perak in East Java.

The Indonesian government has scrapped the long-awaited Cilamaya port project in Karawang district, West Java province, and is seeking a better location in Subang or Indramayu. The Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who visited Cilamaya with several ministers, including Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Susilo and Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, said the new port would be built east of Cilamaya, either in Subang or Indramayu. The decision followed protest from state oil and gas company Pertamina that shipping activity would hamper oil surveys and operations in that area. Kalla said after a meeting at office of the Tanjungjaya village chief, the location has to be moved to better guarantee shipping safety and not to hamper Pertamina operation there.

The Indonesian government has ambitious plans for major infrastructure projects in the near future in order to give a massive boost to the country’s economy, already the largest in South-East Asia. Its shopping list includes among other things the construction of dozens of ports to serve the country’s almost 14,000 islands. To achieve this the Indonesian government is looking abroad for international expertise from among others Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe. During the foreign trade mission headed by Princess Astrid of Belgium, Port Authority chairman Marc Van Peel signed two framework agreements with IPC Corporate University, a subsidiary of the Indonesian Port Corporation (IPC), one of the country’s four national port authorities.

No question that the market for new floating production systems has taken a battering. The past 12 to 18 months have been a difficult period for everyone in the business sector. Absence of new contracts has forced fabricators and equipment suppliers to make huge cutbacks in personnel and spending. But deepwater production will rebound – oil demand keeps growing -- and though the signs are mixed we see indications of the rebound starting. First some numbers about the state of the business. 261 oil/gas floating production units are currently installed on offshore fields.

Indonesian government said that the company that owns the hijacked tugboat Brahma 12 has agreed to pay the 50-million-peso ($1 million) ransom demanded by the Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf for the release of 10 Indonesian crewmembers who have been held hostage since March 26. Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan confirmed this, saying the company and the militants, believed to be linked to Abu Sayyaf, may next communicate today. Negotiations for the handover of the money and the captives are still ongoing, said Luhut. "They've already agreed that the 50 million pesos will be handed over at a specific location," he said, according to Indonesian newspaper Republika.

According to The China People's Daily, Indonesia has just sank a large Chinese vessel and 40 other foreign ships caught fishing in The South China Sea. The Jakarta Post cited Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti as saying that the Gui Xei Yu 12661, a steel-made, 300-gross-ton boat, was sunk on Wednesday in Pontianak, West Kalimantan after it was detonated by the ministry with an explosive device planted on it. AP confirms that Indonesian authorities blew up and sank the 41 foreign fishing vessels as a warning against poaching in the country's waters. The 300 gross tonne Chinese vessel was destroyed with a low-explosive device on its hull in West Kalimantan, said Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.

The President of Indonesia, HE Joko Widodo, today visited DP World flagship Jebel Ali Port where he was received by Chairman HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and toured the leading integrated port and free zone facility that supports and drives the growth of Dubai and the wider region of some two billion people. President Widodo and his high-level delegation including Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister of Economics of Indonesia, Retno Lestari Priansari Marsud, Indonesian Foreign Minister, Sofyan Djalil, National Development Planning Minister, Pramono Anung, Cabinet Secretary, Thomas Lembong, Minister of Trade  and other Indonesian cabinet ministers and diplomats…