RI ship half done with historic voyage

RI ship half done with historic voyage

JAKARTA: A replica of an 8th Century Javanese schooner has survived two tropical storms and ripped sails in a voyage across the Indian Ocean, but is still on course to complete its journey retracing an ancient trade route.

The Samudraraksa, an 18.3-meter wooden craft, left a port in Jakarta in August and is currently in South Africa, officials involved in the voyage told reporters by telephone on Monday.

The ship is "waiting for the right moment" to complete its journey to Accra in Ghana in early February, said Indonesian Tourism Minister I Gede Ardika.

The craft, the brainchild of Briton Philip Beale, is based on a carving which he saw at the giant Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Central Java 20 years ago.

Ardika said the ship will eventually be put on display at the Jakarta National Museum.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, was the seat of successive great maritime regional kingdoms until the advent of Western colonial powers in the 16th century. -- AFP