Senegal hired Indonesian ship

Senegal hired Indonesian ship

INDONESIA: The Senegalese government has hired Indonesian passenger ferry MV Wilis from state-owned shipping company PT Pelini to ply the Casamance region, the Indonesian Embassy in Dakar said.

The embassy told Antara on Saturday that the Senegalese government was renting the ship for US$4,000 per day for 18 months with possibility of an extension for another six months.

The price tag was lower than those offered by other countries for passenger ships. The MV Wilis arrived at Dakar on June 3 in a ceremony led by Senegal Prime Minister Macky Sall.

MV Wilis, which substituted the Le Joola that sunk in September 2002, will sail the Dakar-Ziguinchor route. Indonesian and Moroccan ship crews will jointly operate the ship.

MV Wilis -- whose name was taken from Mount Wilis in East Java, accommodates up to 462 passengers and 47 crew. The ship, which was produced by PT PAL, Indonesia's ship-making company in 1999, has 11 passenger cabins with bathrooms, 302 beds in economy-class cabins, 120 seats, bars, a shop, baggage rooms, medical clinic, prayer room and a galley.

Indonesian Ambassador for Senegal, Ahzam B. Razif, said he hoped the Indonesian initiative could help improve trade and economic relations with Senegal within the framework of South- South cooperation among developing countries. -- JP