Realizing Connectivity In Remote Areas, Ministry Of Transportation Serves 107 Pioneer Ship Trayeks In 2024

Illustration of pioneering ships (Photo: Antara)

The Directorate General of Sea Transportation (Ditjen Hubla) of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) serves 107 pioneer ship routes in 2024. This is to realize connectivity in remote areas.

"This year, the Directorate General of Hubla again held sea transportation for pioneering ships of 107 routes serving 43 base ports, spread across 22 provinces in Indonesia, and served more than 496 stopover ports," said Director General of Sea Transportation Antoni Arif Priadi quoting Antara.

Directorate General Habla called the pioneering ship service a dedication to providing better and more comprehensive transportation accessibility, especially for residents who live in remote areas that are difficult to reach or have not been served by private commercial shipping.

"We understand how important transportation connectivity is in remote areas. By organizing pioneer ship sea transportation, we are trying to bring transportation services closer to people in isolated areas, where land access may be limited," he said.

Therefore, Antoni emphasized that the Directorate General of Hubla is committed to continuing to improve sea transportation services for pioneer ships in order to provide maximum benefits for the community.

He explained that the sea transportation of pioneer ships is one of the backbones of transportation connectivity in Indonesia, which continues to be the main focus of the Directorate General of Hubla.

This commitment is to improve this service in order to provide maximum benefits for people throughout Indonesia, especially in the frontier, outermost, remote and border areas (3TP).

Meanwhile, Director of Traffic and Sea Transportation Hendri Ginting revealed that based on the results of the evaluation of 116 units of ships belonging to the Directorate General of Hubla showed that 99 units of ships were seaworthy and ready for operation. Meanwhile, one unit of the ship is still in the process of completing construction, namely KM Sabuk Nusantara 74.

"This is a significant step in ensuring that the fleet of pioneer ships is ready to serve the community with the best performance," he said.

In an effort to efficiency, the pioneering ship route network has undergone adjustments from 117 routes in 2023 to 107 routes in 2024. The route selection was carried out by considering the number of sea-worthy pioneer ships, as many as 100 units of state-owned pioneer ships, and 7 units of ships belonging to the Transportation Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM).

"This adjustment is carried out by considering the slice of a narrowing route network and the occupancy rate of passengers/goods at the stopover port. Even though the efficiency of the route network has been carried out, it is certain that each stop port proposed by the local government is still served by pioneer ships," said Hendri.

As a result of this efficiency, all pioneer sea transportation routes in 2024 will be served using a passenger ship.

"This is expected to provide a more comfortable and efficient travel experience for people throughout Indonesia," he said.

The Directorate General of Hubla said that pioneer ships are a vital means of transportation to open access to remote areas that are difficult to reach by land or air. This allows people in remote areas to connect with economic, health and educational centers.

With open access to transportation, remote areas have the opportunity to develop their economic sector. The existence of pioneer ships can encourage local economic growth through trade, tourism, and other sectors.