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