Japanese Ship Carrying Three Chinook Helicopters Arrives in West Kalimantan to Assist in Forest Fire Mitigation

The Japanese naval vessel, JS Kunisaki, arrived at Kijing International Port, Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan, on Thursday (10/09/2026). The ship carries three Chinook-type helicopters along with their crews to assist in managing forest and land fires (karhutla) in West Kalimantan.

These three Chinook helicopters will be utilised to support fire suppression through water bombing mechanisms. Fire hotspots deemed to be the most severe will be prioritised for intervention.

For the time being, the helicopters will be stationed at Supadio Air Base in Kubu Raya before being deployed to the fire locations.

Rear Admiral TNI Sawa, Commander of the XII Naval Regional Command (Kodaeral), stated that his office is assisting in ensuring the smooth arrival and utilisation of the ship and equipment from Japan.

“As the Navy, we are assisting the process to ensure the smooth deployment of the troops and the number of water bombing helicopters to be deployed,” said Sawa, as reported by detikKalimantan.

According to Sawa, one Japanese ship has been prepared to support this mission. Prior to the ship’s arrival, a survey team had already arrived to carry out necessary preparations.

“What arrived previously was actually a survey team, not the ship’s personnel,” he added.