mech@eng.ui.ac.id +62 21 7270032
mech@eng.ui.ac.id +62 21 7270032hadi@eng.ui.ac.id
1982 – Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Indonesia
2010 – Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Indonesia
This steel plate ship was conceived to improve the survival of traditional fishermen in Indonesia. It is strong, inexpensive, and easily maintained. Thanks to “the people’s vessel,” transportation to a remote area will be made easier, islands will be more interconnected, and infrastructure development in other islands can be boosted.
With its natural resources in more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the largest maritime country globally. However, accessibility between islands is still constrained and it negatively impacts the high price of commodities, thus making fishers struggle for their prosperity. An appropriate mode of transportation is the key to opening access to economic and regional development.
Innovation for the Economic Development
Departing from a deep concern about traditional fishers, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, built an innovative, new ship built to facilitate traditional fishers’ jobs that positively impacted their jobs on their economic growth remote coastal areas. This ship was developed for five years and will soon be ready to serve Indonesia’s economy in the future.
The ship made of steel plates with a flat hull design is an innovation intended to serve traditional Indonesian fishers. It is referred to as a plate since its hull is built without bending like other ships. A Flat Hull Ship is made with a semi-trimaran model, able to move quickly, has good stability, can lift heavy loads, and is suitable to be applied in the maritime sector. Although the ship’s design is made simple, its steel materials are stronger than that of wood and fiber. Timber’s supply is limited, so its price is relatively high. As a result, if there is damage to a wooden ship, it will be expensive to repair it. Therefore, it will further burden those traditional fishers’ economies.
One of the advantages of this Flat Hull ship is that its simple construction makes the construction process shorter. Therefore, the production cost is lower than that of a wooden or fiber ship. Moreover, this ship is sturdy, more stable against waves, and durable. The ship can be recycled and is environmentally friendly. Since the ship was originally built, it was designed to be easy for traditional fishermen to handle and maintain. A series of flat plate ship trials have been carried out, and they received the fishers’ appreciation. When sailing in Bintuni Bay and West Papua, Flat Ship proved resilient against big waves.