New fast boats for coast guards

New fast boats for coast guards

JAKARTA (JP): The Navy received four new fast patrol boats
yesterday which it will deploy for its coast guard units' drive
against smuggling and illegal fishing.

The boats, built by a local shipbuilding company, PT. Mahayala
Utama, are not equipped with guns but can travel non-stop for 15
hours and have a maximum speed of 32 knots per hour. Each can
carry 14 passengers.

The boats, which cost Rp 170 million ($80,000) apiece, will be
deployed as part of the Eastern Armada and Western Armada units
to patrol areas near Jakarta, Surabaya and along the coast of
Kalimantan, Commodore Mahdi Joesoef of the Navy said yesterday
during the ceremony for the transfer of the boats at Jakarta Bay.

The shipbuilding company can certainly look to brisk business,
estimating that Indonesia needs between 200 and 300 fast patrol
boats to protect its coasts.

The government is currently considering setting up local coast
guard units in various spots with the chief task of putting an
end to the destruction of coral reefs and mangroves by fishermen
using explosives.

The lack of boats has often been cited as the prime cause for
the continued illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, piracy and
smuggling, Anthony Budi, the director of PT. Mahalaya Utama said
during the ceremony held on Pulau Air.

The company also has received orders from the National Police
Force, the Customs office and the Ministry of Transportation,
Anthony said, stressing that his boats are competitively priced.
(rms)