Japan has handed over a fishery patrol vessel named Hakurei Maru to Indonesia.(Photo: Antaranews) Jakarta (VNA) - Japanhas handed over a fishery patrol vessel named Hakurei Maru to Indonesia, alongwith maintenance and equipment fund worth 2.2 billion JPY, according to ANTARANews.
Director of Asia Pacific Affairs of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry SantoDarmosumarto and Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masafumi Ishii signed anexchange of notes marking the handover of the patrol vessel here on February 14.
Speakingat the ceremony, Economic Counselor of the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta ShimizuKazuhiko said Indonesia suffers losses due to illegal fishing but theIndonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has no a vessel capableof patrolling (the country’s) sea.
That is the reason why the Japanese fishery bureau decided to hand over thefishery patrol vessel to Indonesia with the aim of “improving the authorizedagency’s capability to patrol fishing in the Indonesian sea,” he said, addingthat the grant would contribute to maintaining economic and social stabilityand increasing the people’s welfare.
According to Kazuhiko, after March 2020, the Japanese side will providetraining on the repair, use and sailing of the vessel. The vessel will be handedover to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry in 2021”.
The grant is the first of its kind the Japanese government has extended toanother country, he said.
It reflects efforts to step up the capacity of law enforcement in theIndonesian maritime territory that will help realise the concept of “free andopen Indian Ocean.”
Thevessel, which was manufactured in 1993, is 63.37 meters long and hasinternational standard tonnage of 741 tonnes. It has a maximum carrying capacityof 29 people./.
VNA
