The customs and excise office has strengthened its fleet with a new patrol boat constructed by state shipbuilding firm PT PAL to help protect the country from smuggling of illegal goods as well as to act against illegal and unauthorized fishing in Indonesian territorial waters.
The 38-meter-long patrol boat, which can carry a crew of 25 people, will be used to patrol in areas near the Tanjung Balai Karimun Port near Riau island, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in a speech on Thursday given at the PAL head office.
"We need patrol vessels that can maneuver and quickly detect illegal importation of goods done by various means," she said, adding that Indonesia has large maritime areas that need intensive protection.
The vessel, designated a type-BC-30001 is equipped with high-technology radar capable of exchanging data with other vessels or with onshore radar stations. This vessel was constructed with 40 percent local content and components.
The amount of potential losses suffered by the country through illegal imports and smuggling this year has doubled from the previous year although the number of illegal import incidents has declined, according to the customs and excise office.
This year the office found 2,093 cases of illegal imports with potential losses amounting to Rp 597.82 billion (US$63.37 million). The amount of losses have however doubled from Rp 253.93 billion in 2008, when the number of cases was 2,109.
PAL president director Harsusanto said the company would hand over two other patrol vessels of the same type by the end of January 2010.
PAL received funding from Indonesia Eximbank and the Islamic Development Bank to finance the construction of the vessels. Harsusanto did not mention the amount of funding received.
So far PAL has built 20 vessels for the customs and excise office, a PAL official said.
Indonesia Eximbank, which was established in September, is an agency specializing in providing financing for local or foreign companies to boost local exports, said senior managing director Arifin Indra.
Arifin said Eximbank has recently provided $70 million in funds to support PAL in building one chemical tanker, three patrol vessels for the customs and excise office and two more dry cargo vessels.
Also on Thursday, Mulyani said the government would supervise PAL, which is in the process of implementing a restructuring program after receiving $45 million from the government via state asset management agency PT PPA on Wednesday.
"PAL is now in the process of restructuring, *and* we will provide maximum support and supervision," she said.
PAL plans next year to reduce its labor force by up to 800 jobs out of its current 2,400 workers in order to cut costs and to make the state- owned shipbuilding firm more commercially viable.
PAL has been in financial trouble since making a contract for the construction of 20 vessels in 2006 on a flat price, without taking US dollar fluctuations into consideration. This deal led to the firm suffering currency losses which helped account for its current financial problems.
In 2007 the company posted Rp 443 billion in losses, falling to Rp 46 billion in 2008. PAL now owes $120 million in short-term debts to local private and state-owned banks.
