Hand-me-downs given to Navy

JAKARTA: Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Slamet Subijanto officially commissioned on Thursday two warships, given to the Navy by state marine transportation company PT PELNI at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta.

The former passenger ships, with the original names Kambuna and the Rinjani, are now called the Tanjung Nusanive-937 and the Fatagar-974. The Tanjung Nusanive warship will be captained by Lt. Col. Bambang Kusumo, while the Fatagar's captain is Lt. Col. Mintoro.

Slamet said that the Navy would do its best to maintain the ships, which were made in Germany in 1984. He said that the large warships would be useful for transporting large numbers of soldiers.

The Tanjung Nusanive can carry 1,582 passengers, while the Fatagar's capacity is 1,741 passengers.

The Indonesian Military, including the Navy, has long been faced with the problem of a lack of equipment due to its limited budget. Most of military equipment currently in use is old. -- Antara