GOV'T NAMES ITS AS CENTER OF WARSHIP DESIGN

Surabaya, E Java, May 9 (Antara) - The Ministry of Defense has named the Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) as a center of Warship Design and Engineering, in a bid to support the government's plan to make Indonesia a world's maritime axis. "We already have a National Ship Design Center. Then, the Ministry of Defense enhanced its status to a Center of Warship Design and Engineering," Dean of Faculty of Marine Engineering of ITS Prof. Eko Budi Djatmiko said here during Marine Icon 2015 on Saturday. Moreover, ITS was also assigned to participate in the development of the sea-toll project and the construction of five submarines, a joint program between Indonesia and South Korea, at PT PAL. "ITS was given the job to design the submarine shipyard, as the joint program with Korea has been followed by the construction of two submarines in Korea," Djatmiko said. In the next year, three submarines will be developed at PT PAL. "Since 1960, ITS, in fact, had been given a mandate to prepare maritime technology, but the plan was always constrained by the government¿s policy," Djatmiko said. Given the mandate, the institute will devise a design of large shipyards and prepare the human resources, officials said. "By then, we will have capability to build a 150-meter long frigate, not only a large patrol ship," he said. Meanwhile, ITS is organizing Marine Icon 2015, to be held from May 8-10 2015. Head of the Marine Icon 2015 Organizing Committee Nityasa Manuswara said that the event was not only to increase competition, but also awareness about the national maritime sector. "We've seen the fact that Indonesia is a maritime country, but its people have not been aware that we are a maritime society, as they are still largely land-oriented," Manuswara said. There are several competitions being held during Marine Icon 2015, which is taking place at the Submarine Monument complex, such as marine diesel engine assembling for vocational high school students, a water bike competition, the national maritime paper and essay competition, pop pop boat races, a marine photography contest and dragon boat races.