PAL delivers ship to Jepara

SURABAYA: PT PAL Indonesia delivered on Tuesday a passenger ship to Jepara regency in Central Java during a ceremony attended by Central Java Governor Mardiono and the president of the shipbuilder, Adwin Suryohadiprojo.

The ship, the Kartini-I, will be used by the regency on a passenger route between Jepara and the Karimunjawa islands in the hopes of boosting marine tourism on the islands, which feature impressive coral reefs.

"The ship is also expected to drive the local economy by ensuring the flow of people and goods in the regency," Adwin said.

The aluminum-bodied ship, which can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots, was initially designed to hold 160 passengers. PAL, however, modified the ship to hold 168 passengers -- 48 VIP-class passengers and 120 economy-class passengers -- without sacrificing the comfort of air-conditioned passenger cabins.

PAL earlier built two passenger ships -- with capacities of 500 and 200 passengers -- for Merauke regency in Papua, as well as a total of 14 cargo ships since 1988 -- JP