Soeharto to sail from Surabaya to Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): After dedicating a new ship constructed by the state-owned ship-building firm PT PAL on July 20, President Soeharto will travel aboard the ship from Surabaya in East Java to Jakarta to test its comfort.

State Minister for Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said yesterday that President Soeharto and his entourage, including First Lady Tien Soeharto and a number of ministers, were scheduled to leave Surabaya's Tanjung Perak port at noon and to anchor at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port at 2:30 p.m. on the following day.

"In terms of climate, the sea is expected to be calm and it's going to be a night with a fool moon. So, it will be a beautiful memory of Indonesia's golden jubilee," Habibie told journalists after reporting to Soeharto at the Bina Graha Presidential office.

Habibie, who is also the company's president, said the ship, named Palindo Jaya 500, was an Indonesian product. It was especially designed to have a high comfort and safety levels, he said.

"The ship's comfort and safety levels are just the same as those of larger passenger ships made in Germany," said Habibie, who is a German-trained aviation engineer.

The ship, which can carry 500 passengers, 400 of whom in economy class, will primarily serve small ports with waters of four to five meters deep. Big ports will be served by large ships with capacities of up to 2,000 passengers, Habibie said.

Before departing for Jakarta, Soeharto is expected to dedicate a new docking facility at PAL's shipyard in Surabaya, Habibie said.

Habibie did not provide details about the new facility, however, saying only that it would enable the dockyard to build four vessels of 50,000 dead weight tons per year.

PAL, overseen by the Supervisory Board for Strategic Industries, which is also chaired by Habibie, produces a wide range of vessels, from fishing boats to naval craft.

The company is able to produce at least three 45,000 ton commercial ships each year. Since early last year, PAL has focused on producing large vessels of more than 10,000 tons. The construction of smaller vessels has been taken over by smaller shipyards.

According the ministry of industry, Indonesia currently has about 220 shipyards. However, most of them are not equipped to build vessels exceeding 1,000 tons.(rid)