The ship will arrive at the Phuket Deep Sea Port at 9am tomorrow (Sept 29), and will be open for the public to board and tour from midday to 5pm.
On Monday (Sept 30), the ship will be open to the public again from 10am to 5pm.
On board the training vessel are 83 Indonesian naval academy cadets – comprising 72 men and 11 women. The cadets, as part of Indonesian Navy tradition are renowned for their marching band, and will perform at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town from 5:30pm to 6:30pm tomorrow.
The KRI Bima Suci is due to set sail from Phuket on Wednesday (Oct 2).
The Bima Suci will be in Phuket as part of the 2019 Nation Ambassador Sail (NAS), an annual program of the Indonesian Navy to strengthen Indonesia's commitment to regional security, peace and stability. The theme for this year’s program is "Maritime Fulcrum Brotherhood".
The program also aims to the 83 Indonesian Navy Cadets n opportunity to practice their capabilities in basic navigation and astronomical navigation.
This voyage is also part of President Joko Widodo’s policy to build closer relations with neighboring maritime countries and promote the Indonesian tourism sector.
The KRI Bima Suci departed from Surabaya on Aug 5. Its 96-day journey has already included stops in Manila, Osaka, Busan, Shanghai, Brunei and Port Klang in Malaysia, where it left port to make for Phuket.
After departing Phuket, the ship will make stops in Yangon, Padang and Benoa in Indonesia, and Darwin, Australia, before returning to Surabaya.
The KRI Bima Suci is one of the tallest ships owned by the Indonesian Navy, besides KRI Dewa Ruci. The vessel is 111.2 metres long, an13.65m wide draws a depth of 5.95m. Its tallest mast stretches 49m from the deck surface.
This ship – which can accommodate up to 209 personnel consisting of 35 officers, 73 sailors and 101 cadets – is commanded by Lt Col (Navy) S.H. Waluyo, while the “Kartika Jala Krida Training” unit is led by Lt Col Afrilian Sukarno Timur.