Indonesian shipyard PT Bandar Abadi has launched two Teluk Bintuni-class tank landing ships (LSTs) on order for the Indonesian Navy. The success of a private shipyard in Batam in building a warship ordered by the Indonesian Navy has raised confidence in the shipbuilding industry. It is seen by many as an indication that Indonesian warship construction is comparable to that of other nations. Two of the ships have been completed numbers 526 and 527 was launched in Batam, Riau Islands on 27 February, 2021. USD25.2 million contract to build the ships was signed between Indonesian Ministry of Defense and PT Bandar Abadi in April 2019. Keels for both the vessels, were laid down in December 2019. The statement referenced a keel-laying ceremony for LST 117M at the shipyard, and included an image of the development that was also posted on the company’s social media feed.
Indonesia has long been engaged in a bid to boost its maritime capabilities in order to address a range of domestic and foreign challenges and managing the world’s largest archipelago and the world’s second longest coastline. As part of this effort, Indonesia has sought tank landing ships (LST) for the Indonesian Navy. It was announced that the Indonesian Navy intends to acquire a total of twelve new tank landing ships of the same class with some modifications from the lead ship to improve ship’s capability. The Teluk Bintuni class, Indonesian designation AT-117M is a class of tank landing ships that is being built indigenously for the Indonesian Navy by various Indonesian local shipyards.
Teluk Bintuni has a length of 120 metres (393 ft 8 in), a beam measuring 18 metres (59 ft 1 in), and a height of 7.8 metres (25 ft 7 in) with a draft of 3 metres (9 ft 10 in). She has a capacity of 476 passengers, including crew, alongside 10 Leopard main battle tanks and a helicopter. The ship was designed to be able to stay at sea for 20 days.[3] With a crew of 119, consisting of 113 sailors and 6 helicopter crew, she has a displacement of 2,300 tonnes and has a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The ship is armed with light defensive weapons in form of a Bofors 40 mm gun and two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. The vessel could also carry four LCVP boats, and is equipped with a crane for cargo loading and offloading.
