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Activists on Thursday blasted the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry for wasting money on a luxurious French sailing ship to monitor the condition of coral reefs in the country.

The Rp 14.3 billion ($1.53 million), 15.5-meter catamaran was purchased from a Bordeaux-based company using funds designated for use elsewhere in the state budget, they said.

“The ship was bought using money allocated by the House of Representatives under the 2008-2009 state budget to repair six patrol boats belonging to the ministry, not to buy cruise ships,” said Riza Damanik, the coordinator for the Fisheries Justice Coalition (Kiara).

Riza said the monitoring of coral reefs could be performed with much cheaper craft.

“In North Sulawesi, in Bunaken [national marine park], they use traditional boats costing 20 million to 30 million rupiah and they are very effective because they are small boats and move very slowly so they won’t destroy the coral reefs,” Riza said.

“This ship is obviously unnecessary because it’s too big and moves very fast and it looks more like a cruise ship than a ship for monitoring coral reefs.”

Furthermore, Riza suggested a case for corruption because state funds had been spent on the boat even though the purchase had not been budgeted.

However, Aji Soelarso, director general for monitoring and surveillance of marine and fisheries resources, argued that the money for the boat had been allocated in the 2008-09 state budget.

“Bearing in mind that Indonesia is a member of the Coral Triangle Initiative, we needed to buy the ship to monitor the condition of our coral reefs. We must set the lead and be an example to other countries, showing we are serious in maintaining our coral reefs,” Aji said. He was referring to the preservation program launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2007 that now also encompassing Malaysia, Phillipines, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Aji said the ship would also act as a prototype for the country to produce its own reef-monitoring fleet.

“If this ship is being compared to the pinisi [a traditional wooden sailing ship], then you could say that it’s expensive, but it’s lot cheaper than a cruise ship,” Aji said.

He added that the vessel was very fuel efficient and could operate much longer than a standard craft. “The biggest cost associated with monitoring is usually fuel. If we used a regular speed boat, it might cost Rp 40 million to Rp 50 million per day for patrols, while this ship does not depend on fuel but rather wind, so it only costs Rp 1 million per day, including the crew’s accommodation.”

Aji also pointed out that maintenance costs would be minimal as the crew would handle most of the work at its home port, thus a special facility would not be required. The ship will be based in Manado, home to the secretariat office of the Coral Triangle Initiative.