RI police to get three new Japan-made patrol boats

TOKYO (Antara): The Indonesian Police will have three new Japan-made patrol boats late this year and will use them to deal with crimes like piracy in Malacca Straits, where Japanese ships frequently pass the area, a Japanese official has said.

"The three motorboats will set sail to Indonesia next December or three months faster than schedule," Sumidagawa Shipyard Co. Ltd`s overseas development assistance project general manager K. Fujiwara said Monday.

Indonesian Ambassador Jusuf Anwar witnessed the launching of one of the three patrol boats at Sumidagawa Shipyard last Friday. Sumidagawa Shipyard Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of patrol boats, ferries, and medium-class warships.

Each of the three patrol boats has 27 meter in length, 98 tons in dead weight, 30 knots in speed and can carry 12 personnel.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Police Educational and Security Office Body Commissioner General Imam Hariyatna said in a report made available here Monday that the three patrol boats were part of a follow-up to the Japanese government`s grant which had been implemented since 1962 when Japan provided Indonesian with war reparations.