Jakarta Globe, Stephanie Riady | August 13, 2010
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Manila. When the Spirit of Majapahit, a reconstruction of a 13th-century merchant ship, embarked on its eight-country expedition a month ago, it hoped to showcase the country’s maritime spirit and relive the past glory of the Majapahit Empire.
But after visiting just two countries, its crew members are heading home on a plane, and the ship will be sent back to Indonesia in a container.
“The expedition ended because of bad weather, mismanagement and the ship’s poor condition, which renders it unusable,” an Indonesian crew member said in a text message to the Jakarta Globe.
The decision came following mediation talks held late on Friday night in Manila.
The ship, which has 10 Indonesian and three Japanese crew members, docked in the Philippines capital on Aug. 4. It was supposed to depart for the Japanese island of Okinawa two days later, but bad weather and technical problems derailed plans.
Vera Kilapong, from the social and cultural division of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, said that while waiting for the boat’s navigational equipment to be fixed, the crew members discussed a number of problems and decided to mutiny.
According to crew members, the ship, supposedly designed to break through five-meter waves, was in bad shape and could have been seriously damaged by two- to three-meter waves.
Aside from safety issues and bad weather, the crew members cited a lack of insurance and delayed payments as reasons for wanting to abandon the voyage.
Suroso, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s director of archeological heritage, flew to Manila on Friday to try to convince the Indonesian crew members to continue with the voyage.
But after the meeting, it was decided that the crew — and their ship — would return home, albeit separately.
“I thank God almighty because the meeting went well, and what [our demands] as the crew of the Spirit of Majapahit were met by the ministry, represented by the presence of Pak Suroso,” said the crew member, who asked not to be identified.
“The crew will be returned home on a plane as soon as possible, and the outstanding wages will be settled by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.”
The crew member said that it had been decided the ship would be sent home in a specially-designed container for ships, “as has been done with other Indonesian [replica] ships like the Phinisi Nusantara, the Arung Samudera and others.”
“This expedition will be my first and last,” the crew member added.
The original plan was to preserve the Spirit of Majapahit at a museum and turn it into a tourist attraction after it returned from its expedition.
Tourism officials could not be reached for comment on Friday, and it is unclear whether this plan will still be pursued.
