Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Navy's sail training ship KRI Bima Suci departed from Surabaya, East Java, for a 90-day goodwill mission to Russia's Vladivostok and other port cities in several East Asian countries.

A ceremony for the ship's departure took place at the Madura Pier of the Indonesian Navy's (TNI-AL) Second Fleet Command (Koarmada II) in Surabaya on Thursday, August 1.

This barque-rigged vessel carries 189 Indonesian Naval Academy cadets and 32 cadets from 17 countries participating in the 2024 ASEAN Plus Cadet Sail (APCS).

During this diplomatic and goodwill mission, Lt Col Hastaria Dwi Prakoso was assigned to command the sail training vessel.

Koarmada II Commander Rear Admiral Ariantyo Condrowibowo stated that the 32 foreign naval cadets' participation in this year's APCS has made the KRI Bima Suci's mission "special."

The participating cadets come from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Australia, Chile, China, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

In his written speech read out at the ceremony by Koarmada II chief of staff Commodore Isswarto, Condrowibowo noted that the foreign naval cadets had just joined the sail from Surabaya to Singapore.

From Singapore, the KRI Bima Suci will continue its mission to Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Hai Phong in Vietnam, Shanghai in China, Busan in Korea, Vladivostok in Russia, Yokosuka in Japan, and Manila in the Philippines.

He revealed that from Manila, the ship returns back to Indonesian waters and is scheduled to arrive at the Koarmada II pier in Surabaya on October 30, 2024, after sailing through the Balikpapan waters in East Kalimantan.

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Translator: Genta TM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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