RI to join maritime contest

JAKARTA: A team of 18 students from the Surabaya Institute of Technology are to leave for the United State to take part in an international maritime contest called the Atlantic Challenge 2002.

Their departure was officially announced on Friday night by Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardika, who said the team's participation served as an "important moment" for Indonesia to make its presence felt as the world's largest maritime country.

The competition will be held in the U.S. from July 11 through July 17.

A press statement from Ardika's office said the Indonesian team would use a boat it had designed according to the required standards as determined by the contest committee, which was 11.8 meters long and 2.1 meters wide.

Meanwhile, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rohmin Dahuri also hailed the team's participation as a "positive step" for improving the maritime spirit of Indonesians. --Antara