The Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) has dispatched its Makassar-class multirole landing platform dock (LPD) ship, KRI Banjarmasin (592), to Milan for the 2015 World Expo.
A source close to the TNI-AL confirmed to IHS Jane's on 4 May that this marks the first time that the TNI-AL's Makassar class has been deployed to Europe. The vessel left the naval base at Ujung, Surabaya, on 30 April and will make scheduled stops in Cochin in India, Djibouti, and Alexandria in Egypt on its way to Milan.
In a media interview arranged to mark the vessel's send-off, TNI-AL Eastern Fleet spokesperson Colonel Suradi Agung Slamet described the deployment as an opportunity for Indonesia to showcase its naval shipbuilding capabilities. "The event is being attended by participants from 145 countries including Indonesia. It is a good opportunity to show what Indonesians are capable of producing," he said.
According to IHS Jane's Fighting Ships , Banjarmasin was the first LPD to have been constructed indigenously in Surabaya by state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL; it is based on a design by South Korea's Dae Sun. The 122 m vessel was commissioned in November 2009 and has the capacity to transport up to 507 troops and two landing craft for vehicles and personnel (LCVPs).
(Jane's)
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