Poland-made boats to strengthen RI Police fleet

JAKARTA (Antara): Five patrol boats made in Gdansk, Poland, will strengthen the Indonesian Police (Polri) fleet to reduce such crimes as poaching, smuggling, and illegal logging which had caused the country to suffer tens of trillions of rupiah annually, the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw has said.

Gydnia Naval Shipyard (GNS) and Polri officials signed a document on the sending of the five boats from Gdansk to Indonesia, the embassy said in a statement made available to Antara Sunday.

Indonesian Ambassador to Poland Hazairin Pohan witnessed the signing, it said.

The Polish government has already finished a US$24.48 million-contract to build the five patrol boats and will send them either in February or March.

The five patrol boats are of the modern B-2 (NS-935) class which can each accommodate 25-30 personnel and carry complete weaponry system.

Each vessel is 36.4 meters long and 6.8 meters wide with a dead weight of 198 tons and a speed capacity of 26.5 knots.

The statement said the making of five boats was financed by a First Phase Export Credit scheme worth US$145 million agreed by the two countries.