Indonesian Archipelago News

A new twin screw tug Karya Pacific 2232 was completed by PT. Karya Teknik Utama (KTU) in June and has wrapped up successful trials off Batam, Indonesia, just south of Singapore.The Karya Pacific 2232 is a TRAder 2700 steel tug designed especially for PT. Karya Teknik Utama by Robert Allan Ltd. The drive is conventional shaft propulsion, with or without nozzles. The Karya Pacific 2232 is fitted with open screws.The tug is designed for towing barges in the Indonesian archipelago where depth of water is sometimes limited.

Search and rescue teams are looking for a person still missing after hundreds were rescued from a passenger ferry that caught fire in Indonesia's Molucca Sea, local officials said on Sunday.Passenger ferry KM Karya Indah was travelling in a remote part of the Indonesian archipelago, from Ternate in the province of North Maluku towards Sanana on the island of Sulabes, when the fire broke out early on Saturday morning.Dramatic footage from Indonesia’s search and rescue agency showed…

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…

INTTRA, the largest neutral network, software and information provider at the center of the ocean shipping industry, announced an expansion of its rapidly growing carrier network with the addition of Salam Pacific Indonesia Lines (SPIL), its first carrier in Indonesia. The addition of SPIL represents a trend by regional carriers who are joining INTTRA to gain a competitive advantage in their service regions. SPIL provides services to all Indonesian routes, with 32 offices strategically located across the Indonesian archipelago. SPIL will offer its customers a range of services through INTTRA’s network, including booking requests, shipping instructions, Track and Trace, and Ocean Schedules.

Australia's Armidale class patrol boat HMAS Launceston has tested trainees and strengthened regional relationships in a recent deployment to south-east Asia. Launceston departed Australia after sailing from Darwin on 10 March in-company with sister-ship HMAS Pirie. The crews conducted 25mm, 12.7mm and small arms firing serials and undertook close quarters steaming, internal damage control, boat drills and communications training to help their junior warfare officers to practice their mariner skills. Upon completion Pirie commenced border protection duties in Australia's northern waters, whilst Launceston continued north to the Indonesian archipelago through the Sape Strait between the islands of Subawa and Komodo pasing an active volcano.

On Wednesday, Indonesian Independence Day, the southeast Asian country  sank 60 vessels – 58 foreign boats and two domestic vessels –  it captured for unlawfully fishing in its territorial waters. The government said the action marked Indonesia's commitment to "enforcing the law" amid attempts to stop foreign fishermen from "stealing" from its waters. Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the ships were sunk at eight locations across the Indonesian archipelago. But unlike past boat-sinking events, which were broadcast on national television, yesterday's ceremony was markedly toned down, with officials barring media coverage. They have also refused to disclose the vessels' countries of origin.

Indonesian rescue teams continue their search todau (Monday) for 78 people still missing at sea, after their ferry ran into bad conditions, took on water and sank near Sulawesi island on Saturday night, officials said. Rescuers have pulled put 39 survivors and three dead from a passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and were battling bad weather Sunday to reach others still missing. Hopes are fading for 78 people still missing from a ferry that sank off Indonesia's eastern island of Sulawesi, officials say. The New Marina (Marina Baru), a fiberglass boat, was carrying 109 passengers and 10 crew members as crossed the bay on Saturday afternoon, from Kolaka, in Southeast Sulawesi province to Siwa, in South Sulawesi province.

The Indonesian fisheries minister says a massive refrigerated cargo ship believed to be loaded with slave-caught fish has been seized by the navy and brought to shore after an Associated Press report alerted authorities about its presence in the country's waters. The ship was close to leaving Indonesian waters by the time it was finally seized. Thai-owned Silver Sea 2 was located late Wednesday and escorted about 80 miles (130 kilometers) to a naval base in Sabang on the Indonesian archipelago's northwestern tip, said Col. Sujatmiko, the local naval chief. Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said: "I'm so overwhelmed with happiness. The AP used a satellite beacon signal to trace its path from Papua New Guinea waters into neighboring Indonesia. The navy then spent a week trying to catch it.

Sultan of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in Indonesia Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X asked President Joko Widodo to reject the Chinese government bid to link the World Maritime Axis (Indonesia) with the Maritime Silk Road (China), reports Antara News. Chinese offer for cooperation in the Maritime Silk Road framework could make the Indonesian nation become consumers of their products, he said. "Maritime Silk Road from China is the logistics of the country's path to another country, therefore if their bid is accepted, then it would make Indonesia into China's consumer products forever," said Sri Sultan. Yogyakarta said that the Indonesian Archipelago Sea Lanes (ALKI) had so far always been the target of China, Australia and Singapore.

The Panama Maritime Authority has accredited ESC Global Security personnel to offer protection aboard Panamanian-registered vessels, in what is thought to mark the first Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) licence issued under the new Panama Administration. During December 2014, a new set of rules including a new licence fee for PMSCs was introduced whereby failure to comply would result in the revocation or suspension of a security company’s operating licence. The new…

Indonesian Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo has met Dutch Ambassador to his country Rob Swartbolon to discuss cooperation on maritime issues, reports The Jakarta Post. Both has agreed to explore cooperation in various maritime issues including in developing an integrated system of information and communication technology, the expansion of tourism in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and the improvement of manpower capacity. A ministry statement said that research on the Indonesian archipelago's maritime history and civilization will act as a beginning to cooperation. The two countries share a long maritime history. Several of the Indonesian Navy's warships were made in the Netherlands…

Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus has launched a petro-piracy endorsement for ships operating in the South China Sea, Malacca Straits, Indonesian Archipelago and Gulf of Guinea. South-East Asia accounted for three-quarters of global maritime piracy last year, according to figures published by the International Maritime Bureau. A surge in tanker hijackings helped fuel a 22 per cent jump in armed robbery and pirate attacks on ships in the region. There were 183 actual and attempted incidents of piracy and robbery in South-East Asian waters last year, compared to 150 in 2013. Denis Nifontov, Head of Marine K&R at Seacurus, believes these numbers will hold steady in 2015.

U.K. maritime intelligence provider Dryad Maritime are to release a specialist report, ‘Special Advisory Southeast Asia: Disorganized theft to organized crime,’ which will focus on the rise of targeted hijackings in Southeast Asia. The advisory to be released on March 18, 2013 provides an overview of the security situation and the increased threat from maritime crime in the region. Risk analysis of these incidents has shown that the hijack of merchant vessels does not follow the…

Indonesia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Kadin) to import 2,500 short sea service ships from China starting this year. Natsir Mansyur, Vice Chairman of Kadin's Trade, Distribution and Logistics division informed Xinhua, the officeal China News Agency, that Kadin has signed the agreement with China and a total of 2,500 coastal and short sea ships worth US$5-billion will be delivered gradually within 5 years starting 2013. Transporting goods in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago with 17,000 islands, is very costly due to poor logistics and bad infrastructure.

Indonesia's North Sea Boats Ltd launch one of the most innovative warships in the world. Measuring 63m in overall length, the vessel will be named KRI Klewang - after a traditional Indonesian single edged sword. It combines a number of existing advanced technologies into a single, unique platform; a wave-piercer trimaran hull form, constructed exclusively of infused vinylester carbon fibre cored sandwich materials for all structural elements, with external “Stealth” geometry and features intended to reduce detection.