PORT KLANG: Indonesian ship, the KRI Bimasuci 945, yesterday docked for the first time at the National Hydrographic Centre centre as part of its three-day diplomatic sailing mission to Malaysia.
The naval training ship of the Indonesian National Military-Naval Force under Commandant Lieutenant Colonel Waluyo arrived at the port at about 9am and was greeted by assistant chief of staff, human resource of the Royal Malaysian Navy, First Admiral Anuar Mohamed.
The KRI Bima Suci which was built in Spain and measures 111.2 metres in length, with a width of 13.65 metre, had 83 cadet officers of the Indonesian Naval Academy (AAL) which include 72 men and 11 women, as well as 89 crew and 18 trainee staff.
As part of its three-day visit here, the ship is open for public viewing, especially by Indonesians who want to take a closer look and experience a trip on a ship.
The ship which was commissioned into the Indonesian navy in Sept 2017 is scheduled to receive visits by members of the public until tomorrow from 9am until 6pm.
Included in the diplomatic mission is a band performance by cadet officers of the AAL Indonesia at the Petronas Twin Towers, joint activities with cadet officers of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) as well as a celebration event on-board the ship, to be attended by members of Malaysian defence agencies and representatives of the Indonesian republic here.
Waluyo said the objective of the diplomatic mission by the KRI Bimasuci 945 was to foster the long-standing ties between Indonesia and Malaysia in naval defence.
The ship began its journey to nine countries on Aug 5, with Malaysia as its sixth location, as part of the practical training for its cadet officers in various areas, specifically astronomy navigation.
Meanwhile, Anuar said the visit by KRI Bimasuci 945 could foster closer defence ties between Malaysia and Indonesia as well as share the best practices used on the training ship.
As part of its 96-day journey, the KRI Bimasuci 945 which departed from Surabaya, Indonesia, has docked in Manila, Philippines; Osaka, Japan; Busan, South Korea; Shanghai, China; Brunei; and Port Klang, Malaysia before continuing to Phuket, Thailand; Yangon, Myanmar; Padang and Bali in Indonesia and ending in Darwin, Australia. — Bernama