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