Minister Trenggono: It Takes 70 Ships To Monitor Indonesian Waters

Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KP) Sakti Wahyu Trenggono. (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that currently his ministry only has 34 ships. Meanwhile, to monitor all Indonesian waters, 70 ships are needed.

Furthermore, Trenggono said that the ships owned by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) are currently more than 15 years old.

"The number of ships we have currently is only 34 units, an average age of more than 15 years, but it is still operating well. Ideally, we actually have 70 ships to oversee the entire expansion of Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke," he said in a working meeting with Commission IV of the DPR, Wednesday, November 5.

Trenggono said the need for more monitoring vessels is in line with the area of Indonesia's sea area which is divided into six fishing zones.

According to Trenggono, without adequate fleets, efforts to eradicate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU Fishing) practices are not optimal.

"We divide it into six arrest zones so that right now our supervision is the IUU FISI from outside. But on the other hand, even from within the country we do not have the ability to anticipate arrests that are from within as well as included in the FISI IU category," he explained.

Untuk memperkuat armada, KKP tengah menyiapkan proyek pembangunan kapal pengawas melalui pinjaman lunak dari pemerintah Spanyol. Skema ini sudah diinisiasi sejak sebelum Trenggono menjabat sebagai menteri.

“Kita mendapatkan pinjaman lunak dari pemerintah Spanyol untuk pembangunan 10 kapal. Empat kapal akan dibangun di Spanyol dan enam di dalam negeri. Periodenya atau jangka waktunya kira-kira sekitar 3 tahun apabila ini disetujui maka ini akan kita jalankan dimulai di tahun 2025 dan mudah-mudahan di akhir tahun 2028 itu akan bisa segera kita selesaikan,” ucapnya.

To strengthen the fleet, the KKP is preparing a monitoring ship construction project through a soft loan from the Spanish government. This scheme has been initiated since before Trenggono served as minister.

"We have received soft loans from the Spanish government for the construction of 10 ships. Four ships will be built in Spain and six in the country. The period or period is approximately 3 years if this is approved then we will carry out this starting in 2025 and hopefully by the end of 2028 we will be able to finish it soon," he said.