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tate oil and gas company PT Pertamina has officially started the operation of a nationally constructed vessel, named Musi, to strengthen fuel distribution to cities in Sumatra, such as Padang in West Sumatra, Plaju in South Sumatra and Bengkulu.

Musi, which has a capacity of 3,500 dead weight tons (DWT), is Pertamina’s 47th vessel of the 175 it currently operates.

“With the operation of Musi, we hope we can optimize fuel distribution in the country so that our energy security can be maintained. Considering its geography, distributing fuel in Indonesia is very challenging,” said Pertamina senior vice president for shipping, Suhartoko, after inaugurating the operation of the vessel in North Jakarta on Friday.

He said with the support of the government, Pertamina would build vessels below 30,000 DWT in shipyards in Indonesia. This year, the company planned to build eight vessels in the country, he added.

“The price of the Musi vessel is US$11.8 million. Another vessel we’re building at state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia with the size of 17,500 DWT is priced at nearly $25 million,” Suhartoko reported.

Musi was constructed by private Lampung-based shipyard PT Daya Radar Utama (DRU). The contract actually said the construction would take only 18 months, but due to a number of problems, the vessel was only completed after 24 months.

DRU president director Amir Gunawan argued the delay was because the vessel used the latest technology and specifications and it was the first time an Indonesian company had ever built such a ship. The design phase took even longer than schedule, he said.

“We still have to build two more vessels with the same capacity and specifications with Musi for Pertamina. Since we already have experience with the first vessel, the next ones won’t be late,” he told reporters.

Pertamina aims to have 61 vessels by the end of 2013. Of the 61 vessels, 29 units, or 47 percent, will be constructed in the country, with 21 having already currently operated and eight still being set up at PAL, DPS, Dumas and DRU.

“Pertamina has been committed to work with national companies as its contribution to develop the national shipping industry,” Suhartoko said.

Pertamina’s shipping division distributed 82 million kiloliters (Kl) in 2011, up by 4.3 percent from 2010. The products Pertamina distributed included 31 million Kl of white oil (Pertamina’s oil-based fuels), 3.9 million Kl of black oil, 2.7 million Kl of aviation fuel, 28.8 million Kl of crude oil, 4.6 million Kl of asphalt, 10 million Kl of LPG and 500,000 Kl of lubricants and special boiling point x (SPBX).

The company aims to increase the distribution to 84.2 million Kl, comprising 33 million Kl of white oil in 2012, 3.1 million Kl of black oil, 3 million Kl of aviation fuel, 29.6 million Kl crude oil, 4.7 million Kl asphalt, 10 million Kl LPG and 500,000 Kl of lubricants and SPBX.