Prabowo pushes for strengthening of national logistics fleet

President Prabowo Subianto has urged his cabinet to prepare a development plan for the national fleet, aiming for more Indonesian-flagged vessels to handle the country’s logistics in the future. The directive was issued after the President highlighted the overwhelming dominance of foreign-flagged ships in domestic freight, which currently accounts for 95 per cent of goods transportation. “How to develop our fleet, as the President sees that 95 per cent of goods shipments are under foreign flags. The plan is to shift this towards Indonesian-flagged vessels, and he has asked for a development plan,” said Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani after a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Monday. Rosan stated that the government will push to strengthen the national shipbuilding industry, involving both state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private shipyards, to produce vessels that meet international standards and fulfil the needs of the national fleet. “We have shipyards, both SOE and private national ones, which we want to improve and advance, so that shipbuilding can be done in Indonesia according to good, international standards,” he explained. In the same meeting, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto said his ministry has been asked to focus on technology and research development to support the national shipbuilding industry. Collaboration between universities and PT PAL is expected to be a strategic step to strengthen domestic industrial capacity. “Together with PT PAL, research and studies by professors in the maritime field can grow our shipbuilding industry, thereby opening up employment and fulfilling our needs through domestic industry,” Brian said. He added that Indonesia’s demand for ships spans various sectors, from passenger transport to domestic logistics, representing a significant market potential that should be harnessed to drive the growth of the national shipbuilding industry.