Sukamiskin Prisoners Support Food Security and Defence Through Sukaboat
Inmates at Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung have built two types of boat to support the food security programme and the strengthening of national defence. The vessel intended to support food security is the Sukaboat Fisherman 10 (SBF-10), while the Sukaboat 10 (SB-10) is intended to support national defence. Both are 10 metres long.
Emirsyah Satar, an inmate who serves on the Sukaboat managerial team, said the SBF-10 is intended for fishermen. With a traditional appearance, the SBF-10 is made using fibreglass material.
“What is special about the Sukaboat project is that the SBF-10 is presented by the inmates to support the President’s Asta Cita programme. That includes food security and the welfare of fishermen, and we want to contribute,” Emirsyah told detikcom on Thursday (20/8/2026).
The Sukaboat team began the development by looking at the needs of crab fishermen in Cirebon, West Java. They used one of the fishermen’s wooden boats as a reference.
“We took one example of a wooden fishing boat, then we converted it into fibreglass, but with a traditional design and look. So we must maintain our local wisdom; the character and layout are suited to the needs of our fishermen,” said Rio, an inmate who is also on the Sukaboat managerial team.
Rio said the fibreglass material makes the boat lighter, so fuel consumption is more efficient. The Sukaboat team will then make adjustments to the propeller.
“So we adjust the boat material, and we speed up the propeller with the same engine, so it should be more efficient because fibreglass is not as heavy as wood,” Rio said.
He also said the team has discussed the potential for fishermen to buy the boats. One scenario is through the People’s Business Credit (KUR) scheme or fishing cooperatives. “So the inmates want to help the country. In terms of food security, we help fisheries with boats for fishermen. Fishermen can buy this boat perhaps through KUR or fishing cooperatives,” he said.
Rio said he and the inmates in the Sukaboat management have also thought about making a boat module that can be used as a defence fleet, namely the SB-10. After seeing that inmates were able to build boats of 4 to 8 metres following training, Rio, who is a product design expert, designed the SB-10.
“For this 10-metre boat, the story is that our seas must be protected. So we imagined making a 10-metre boat that is ready to face threats to state sovereignty in territorial waters,” Rio said.
From the idea of making one boat, Rio then saw a wider possibility: spreading boat-making skills to inmates in prisons across the country. He said there are around 187,000 inmates in various prisons, while the number of boat craftsmen nationally is estimated at only around 5,000 to 10,000 people.
The graduate of a well-known state university in Bandung is optimistic that if he makes a module and inmates in other prisons build boats based on that module, the Sukaboat team’s ambition can be realised, namely contributing to national defence.
“Imagine if the 187,000 inmates in prisons could make boats, inmates in all prisons could make boats for defence. Some would cast resin and so on. So we make the module at Sukamiskin Prison, it could help national defence, and the cost is cheaper because it is done by inmates in the correctional system,” he said.
In his design, the SB-10 uses aluminium on top of a fibreglass base. The boat is designed as a fast craft with advanced technology, with a target speed of up to 50 knots. The shape and material of the boat are also planned to have the ability to reduce radar detection.
Therefore, besides being usable by the private sector, the SB-10 can also be used for patrol, security and rapid response to emergencies.