Involve 2 Education Institutions, Kemendikbudristek Bangun 2 Ships Anilai Rp2 Miliar

Director General of Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture Kiki Yuliati. (ANTARA/HO-Personal Documentation)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) built two historic ships to support the revitalization of spice routes.

Director General of Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture Kiki Yuliati said the construction of the ship was through the Surabaya State Transportation Polytechnic (PPNS) and SMKN 3 Buduran.

"This is also the first step of collaboration involving all parties to preserve traditional ships," said Kiki in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday, September 26.

The two ships are the Pencalang Ship built by PPNS. Meanwhile, the Ijon-Ijon ship built by SMKN 3 Buduran.

The Pencalang ship is a traditional Nusantara merchant ship or historically referred to as a pantchialang or pantlawang.

Meanwhile, the Ijon-Ijon Ship is the fishing boat that is most widely used by fishermen with design and color uniqueness.

Even though it is made of wood, the traditional ship will later be operated in a modern way while still prioritizing the nation's own cultural heritage.

The project received support from the Directorate General of Vocational Education (Ditjen Diksi) through the distribution of the second phase of the Matching Fund (MF) operational assistance in 2022 with an assistance value of Rp. 2 billion. The work of building the Pencalang Ship and the Ijon-Ijon Ship with knowledge is a way of developing knowledge.

"Thank you to all those who have collaborated in building these traditional ships, along with the preservation of local culture," he said.

The Pencalang ship that will navigate the spice route has a length of 11.02 meters, a water line length of 11.16 meters, a height of 1.5 meters, and a width of 4 meters. The speed is around 10 knots with a transport capacity of 4 people.

Meanwhile, the Ijon-ijon Ship has a length of 12 meters, a width of 3.5 meters, and a height of 1.5 meters.

The Pencalang ship and the Ijon-Ijon Ship will be presented at the peak of the meeting of the world's major economies, namely the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022.

"This ship will be operated in a modern way and will continue to prioritize our cultural heritage," said PPNS Director Eko Julianto.

In the "Revitalization of the Spice Line" program, vocational students and polytechnical students studied with collaborative boatmen who had experience building wooden boats as engineering artifacts that contained high economic and cultural values.

Intensive interactions between students and boat builders are expected to be successful in revitalizing the Spice Line cultural ecosystem which will play an important role in preserving the lives of coastal communities.