The first steel-cutting of the ship ordered by Indonesia took place at Sefine Shipyard, Altinova, Yalova, Turkey, Wednesday (Oct 30), Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Defense Brigadier General Edwin Adrian Sumantha and Head of the Indonesian Navy Information Service First Admiral I Made Wira Hady Arsanta Wardhana confirmed on Thursday.
In the first steel-cutting event, Head of the Defense Facilities Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Air Marshal Yusuf Jauhari, was represented by Special Staff of the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Retiono Kunto.
"The ship being built is a type of fast missile ship that has complete and integrated combat capabilities and has high speed," the Ministry of Defense's Head of Communications stated in his speech read by Retiono.
He remarked that the first steel cutting represented an important milestone in the ship's construction, which marked the start of the construction of the vessel's fundamental framework and structural platform.
In the stages of ship construction, the first steel cutting is also one of the four main milestones. The other three important stages include keel laying, launching, and ship naming.
The ship was then sent from Turkey to Indonesia, and the Ministry of Defense handed over the ship to the Indonesian Navy.
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At the event in Turkey, Rear Admiral Retiono signed the minutes of the first steel cutting with Sefine Shipyard's top brass, Suleyman A. Tuzcuoglu. Sefine Shipyard then handed over a miniature of the KCR Full Combat Mission to the representative of Rear Admiral Retiono, representing the Indonesian Government.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defense purchased two combat mission fast missile boats (NB74 and NB75) from TAIS — a consortium of five Turkish shipyards.
The two ships purchased by Indonesia have an overall length of 70 meters, with a width of 11.7 meters. The ships can sail at a maximum speed of over 40 knots and carry 43 personnel.
"I am confident in TAIS' ability to build this KCR Full Combat Mission with good quality and complete it according to the specified time," Head of the Ministry of Defense noted in his remarks read by Rear Admiral Retiono.
He ended his remarks by thanking the ranks of TAIS officials and the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the Turkish Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and the Turkish Navy.
He emphasized that the cooperation was a joint effort to maintain stability and security in the region.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defense has so far not been able to provide further information regarding the contract value, the agreed technology transfer/offset cooperation, and the target for completion of the construction of the two ships ordered by Indonesia.
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Translator: Genta Tenri Mawangi, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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