"Sailing ships is one of the Sail Morotai contests," Sail Morotai Committee Chairman Muhadjir Albar said here on Monday.
According to Muhadjir, the overseas sailing ships will sail via two gates at Darwin and Kinabalu, and then drop anchor somewhere in Indonesia before converging in Morotai.
In addition to the sailing contest, Sail Morotai will also organize nautical sports and culture festivals and promote tourism through national and international seminars.
Muhadjir remarked that the Sail Morotai event was being promoted in the United States, Australia, and Japan because these three countries had fought on Morotai Island during World War II.
He added that infrastructural preparations for the event are currently underway and are expected to be completed on time.
Muhadjir noted that the central government had allocated Rp80 billion to fund the construction of infrastructure and facilities for Sail Morotai.
In addition, the North Maluku provincial government has allocated Rp130 billion to promote the success of the international marine event at Morotai Island.
Sail Morotai 2012 is organized by the Indonesian government and is expected to be the principal maritime event for this year`s Sail Indonesia rally.
Morotai Island in the Morotai Islands district is famous not only for its natural splendor and the marine beauty of its coral reefs, containing a variety of beautiful fishes and tempting diving sites, but also for historical tourism to view sunken World War II ships.
(T.I025/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
