RI seas prone to accidents

RI seas prone to accidents

SEMARANG: Being an archipelagic country, Indonesian waters are
prone to ship accidents, Minister of Communications Giri Suseno
said here on Friday.

"In a bid to curb the number of sea accidents, we have
conducted policies on management, maintenance and development of
navigational facilities," Giri said on the sidelines of the
launching of the KN Altair and KN Antares ships.

Sea accidents in the country have claimed hundreds of lives
and inflicted huge losses, mostly due to a lack of navigational
guidance.

In the most recent accident, a traditional fishing boat was
struck by a tanker in the waters off Batam island.

Giri said various navigational assistant devices are being
developed and installed across the country.

The government has built a total of 1,125 lighthouses. No less
than 379 others belong to various institutions. (har/edt)