Modern hunters for Indonesia

Abeking & Rasmussen delivers after only three years

In 2020, the Indonesian Navy signed a contract for the construction of two minehunting boats. The three units have now been delivered on time. The "KRI Pulau Fani - 731" and the "KRI Pulau Fanildo - 732" (construction numbers 6508 and 6509) are currently being realised with the dock ship "Combi Dock I" of Reedereit Harren and Partner to their home country. A&R employees will accompany the commissioning at the Indonesian Navy.

When the minesweepers were in the Baltic Sea for trials, the Kieler Nachrichten cheered with the headline "the most modern minesweepers in the world". The editor was no doubt alluding to the fact that the German Navy is also slowly and increasingly having to think about MCM units. The current units were once also the most modern in the world, based on the MHV 60 design from A&R, they are practically the "grandfathers" of the Indonesian units.

So what makes these two ships the most modern in the world?

The units are made of non-magnetisable steel and are equipped with Due to the material used, it has a minimal magnetic signature; the material has also proven to be excellent in the event of damage and fire. In addition, the shock resistance, e.g. against mine explosions, is guaranteed longer than with any other material, even after decades of use. We already know this from the German units, so what's new?

In addition to state-of-the-art effectors and sensors the units are equipped with a stationary diver pressure chamber, two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The units are equipped with Synapsis NX navigation and bridge systems from Anschütz in Kiel, an integrated SYNTACS command and control system and a hull-mounted sonar, which can handle the entire minehunting chain (detection, classification, identification, destruction). In addition to the usual controllable pitch propeller, the Bow thruster available for optimum manoeuvrability during minehunting operations. The propulsion system consists of two MAN 12V175D-MM diesels with AKA Hybrid PTI system from MAN Energy Solutions SE for low-noise driving during minehunting operations.

Other unmanned systems can also be integrated. The speed of over 20 knots required by the Indonesian navy is also necessary, as Indonesia has extremely long sea borders.

A novelty for Abeking & Rasmussen was the training of the future crews. A warehouse was specially converted into a training centre for this purpose. With over 100 crew members, the training took place over 4 weeks at the shipyard. The crew members were familiarised with the systems on board. In addition, there were daily theoretical training sessions in the training centre with combined practical sessions on board to prepare the crew for the upcoming takeover. The training content was provided by A&R staff and system suppliers. In addition, there was a "Harbour Sail and Safety Training" for each crew member during which the systems were tested and demonstrated underway and all safety equipment was demonstrated.

With the loading of the two ships in Bremerhaven, the work at Abeking & Rasmussen has largely come to an end. There was a BBQ to say goodbye, with a certain amount of melancholy after working together. According to Indonesian sources, the order volume totalled around 200 million dollars.

The first minesweeper was designed by Henry Rasmussen at the shipyard over 100 years ago. It was construction number 823, with a length of 16.5 metres, which was handed over to the Imperial Navy in 1917. In the meantime, more than 360 mine countermeasure units have been delivered to navies worldwide; Abeking & Rasmussen was also involved in all mine countermeasure units of the German Navy. And as a good omen, the minehunting boat "Fulda" (class 332), which is currently undergoes an extensive refit in its home shipyard. celebrate its 25th birthday.