Its To Build Wooden Shipyard In 2020

SURABAYA, East Java, April 17 (Antara) - The Surabaya Institute of Technology Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) plans to build a wooden shipyard to serve as an educational center for maritime technology. The plan followed a cooperation agreement reached with a Spanish Maritime Cultural Center, Albaola Itsas Kultur Faktoria in November 2017. The dean of the Maritime Technology Faculty of ITS Prof Daniel M Rosyid PhD said here on Tuesday, the shipyard is to be completed in 2020. "As a maritime country with sea territory wider than land territory, Indonesia needs to have own ship production center," Daniel said. Daniel said an ITS team had once visited Albaola Itsas Kultur Faktoria in 2011 and now ITS wants to continue cooperation by sending five students there as apprentices. Albaola has been entrusted by UNESCO to build a full replica of San Juan, a whale hunting wooden vessel, which was built in Basques in the 1560s. The San Juan once operated in the Atlantic sailing to the sea off Newfoundland, Canada before it finally sank in the sea off Red Bay, Labrador. Albaola was later named as a center for development of world class maritime culture training youths in maritime technology such as in "boat building", "rowing" and "sailing". "With students we sent there , we hope to be able to share the business model to be developed in Indonesia," Daniel said. Wooden boats, which so far have been built traditionally would be built by trained engineer, he said. Wooden boats would also serve as an attraction for tourists in Indonesia, he said pointing many wooden boats used in the Raja Ampat tourist destination in West Papua. Daniel said the wooden shipyard would also become a museum for students to study wooden shipbuilding technology in Surabaya.