Indonesia plans to build 1,582 new fishing vessels starting in 2026 as part of efforts to raise national fisheries productivity.
Of the total, 1,000 vessels will have a capacity of 30 gross tons each and will be allocated to fishing villages being modernized under the country’s Red and White Fishing Villages initiative.
Construction of some vessels, all of which will be domestically built, will start this year, with the program rolling out in phases through 2027 and 2028, as well, according to Director General of the Indonesian Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research Nyoman Radiarta, per state broadcaster Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI). The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will also offer training for crews drawn from fisheries schools and coastal communities in the aforementioned modernized fishing villages, RRI said.
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto said the initiative has received international interest, noting during a state visit to London in January that the U.K. had committed to support Indonesia’s plan to build the new fishing vessels under a maritime cooperation framework.
“The U.K. will support our plan to build fishing vessels because we want to make a large investment in this,” Subianto said, following talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Indonesian News Agency Antara reported on 2 February that Subianto also met with Babcock International Group CEO David Lockwood in London during his January U.K. visit. The U.K.-based shipbuilder is expected to participate in Indonesia’s plan under the bilateral partnership.
Indonesia Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said the plan is expected to generate employment for around 600,000 people nationwide, including about 30,000 crew positions and roughly 400,000 roles in vessel production and assembly.
