On 21 November the Indonesian shipbuilder PT Palindo Marine launched a 110m OPV destined for the Indonesian Maritime Security Board, which is the country’s coast guard agency.
The 2,400t ship will be the largest platform within the Badan Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia (BAKAMLA). This coast guard force is ill equipped to monitor Indonesia’s vast archipelagic waters, currently relying on six 48m patrol boats.
RAdm Ari Soedewo, chief of the BAKAMLA, said in a statement read out at the launch ceremony in Batam that it was 'a historical event for Indonesia' and that 'never again will we be looked down upon'