Haji Isam's Cruise Ship Used to Support Government Programme
A photograph showing the luxury cruise ship J7 Explorer bearing the logo of the Ministry of Defence (Kemenhan) went viral on social media. It later emerged that the vessel belongs to South Kalimantan businessman Andi Samsudin Arsyad, also known as Haji Isam.
Citing Antara, Isam confirmed that the 8,076 GT vessel is his and explained that it was built in Batam and completed in 2022.
Isam said the grand ship has been converted into a mother ship or floating base camp to support the large-scale rice field development project in Wanam, Merauke Regency, South Papua.
According to him, the vessel’s presence is crucial because of South Papua’s isolated geography and lack of land infrastructure.
He explained that the ship serves as a coordination centre, temporary accommodation for experts, and a logistics hub amid difficult field access.
Isam said the involvement of his vessel is part of private sector participation in the priority food security agenda under the Prabowo Subianto administration.
He said that to meet the rice field development target in Merauke, thousands of heavy equipment units and professional personnel from home and abroad have been deployed directly to the project site.
“Around 2,000 excavators were brought in from China. In addition, experts from China, Japan, and Europe have also been engaged to support the work on the ground,” Isam said.
He said his involvement in the mega project is not merely about business profit and loss, but a form of responsibility in carrying out a state mandate.
The project, he said, is expected not only to strengthen national food stocks but also to open new employment opportunities for the people of Papua.
Separately, Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, explained that the vessel is privately owned.
The ship is being used to support activities and the mobilisation of needs for the food security programme being implemented in several regions of Indonesia, including Wanam, South Papua, as well as areas in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
“The use of the Ministry of Defence logo relates to the ship’s function in supporting the implementation of the programme,” Rico said.
He stressed that ownership of the vessel remains with the private party, while its use is directed towards supporting the national food security programme.
“Regarding the ownership of the company or private party in question, we do not enter into that aspect. What we can confirm is that the vessel is not a Ministry of Defence asset,” he said.