The Indonesian Navy took command of a new vessel, the KRI Banjarmasin-592 warship manufactured by PT PAL, on Saturday.
State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL symbolically handed over the ship to the Defense Ministry, which it in turn later passed it on to the Indonesian Navy at a military ceremony in Surabaya, East Java.
The KRI Banjarmasin, a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) type vessel used to transport and land troops, is the first of two 125-meter LPD’s manufactured by PT PAL.
Among those present at the ceremony were Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Didik Heru Purnomo and Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Agus Suhartono.
First Admiral Iskandar Sitompul, a spokesman for the Indonesian Navy, said the KRI Banjarmasin was the Navy’s third LPD. The previous two were built by South Korea’s Daewoo International Corporation and have been in commission since last year.
The latest vessel, said to have cost around $30 million, has the capacity to carry five helicopters and can reach a speed of 15.4 knots.
Antara