I

ndonesia will host the biggest ever maritime event bringing together the world's largest warships including the USS George Washington super carrier with around 5,000 crew members on board, the event organizer said Thursday.

The Sail Bunaken 2009 event will be held from Aug. 12 to 20 in Manado, North Sulawesi and will showcase 31 foreign warships, 10 Indonesian warships, three tall ships and 165 sailboats and yachts from 29 countries.

"More than 1,500 divers from across the world have confirmed their attendance to Sail Bunaken festivities, which is expected to break the Guinness Book of Records," Aji Sularso, secretary of the national committee told reporters.

He said that none of the participants had cancelled their visits due to last Friday's twin hotel bombings hitting the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriot hotels, which killed nine people and injured more than 50.

"Navy chiefs of staff from 25 countries and ambassadors from participating countries have confirmed their attendance," he said.

He said the participants would conduct a sailing pass and an air show in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Manado Bay area.

The participating countries by vessels and delegation include the US, Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, England, Thailand, France and South Korea.

Aji said the Indonesian fleet review would also include an air show by the Indonesian Air Force and Navy aircraft, and a takeoff and landing show of US aircraft above the USS George Washington.

He said the Bunaken event, aimed at promoting the country's huge marine resources, would also present various festivities such as a yacht rally, a city parade, water sports and an admiral dinner.

Aji said the event would also celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day with a special flag ceremony.

The event is financed by Rp 30 billion (US$2.97 million) from the state budget and is part of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) and Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) summits.

The WOC and CTI were also the first international meetings on ocean affairs attended by participants from 80 countries.