Jakarta: With customers increasingly choosing air travel over ships in Indonesia, state-run PT Pelni has decided to modify its ships so that they can carry containers as well as passengers.
The move is a reaction to the ever increasing volume of budget air carriers operating across the archipelago.
Three ships – Sinabung, Lawit and Tatamailau – will be modified in 2013 while its largest ship, Gobonsolo, has already been modified and another large one, Ciremai, is finishing up at a shipyard at the moment.
Pelni operates 31 ships at present. There are plans also to convert some ships so that they can carry passengers, containers and livestock.
The company has set a target to book Rp2.2trn in revenue this year, up from Rp 1.9trn last year. [06/11/12]
