In June this year, Sweden and Indonesia will celebrate something special – the return to “Batavia” of the Swedish sailing Ship “Götheborg”, a full scale replica of one of the Swedish merchant vessels that regularly anchored in Batavia in the 18th century.
The arrival of the ship highlights the historic as well as contemporary links between Sweden and Indonesia.
In an effort to broaden these links and as a result of the cooperation between Garuda Indonesia, the Indonesian Navy and the Embassy of Sweden, four Indonesian Navy cadets will participate on the voyage of the Swedish Ship Götheborg between Fremantle in Australia and Jakarta.
The ship departs Fremantle May 25 and arrives in Jakarta on June 18. The ship stays in Jakarta for ten days before it sets sail again on June 28 for Canton, China.
The four sergeant major cadets, Andromeda Windra Ciptadi, Kresno Suryo Wibowo, Indra Agustian, and Abdul Gofur, all students at the Indonesian Naval Academy, will be taken to Fremantle courtesy of Garuda Indonesia where they will sign on as members of the crew.
The participation of Garuda Indonesia in this event is part of its support to the improvement of the long-lasting relationship between Indonesia and Sweden. Garuda Indonesia also wishes that this event will be beneficial for Indonesia’s tourist industry, thereby attracting more foreign tourists to Indonesia.
Background:
From 1732 until the beginning of the 19th century, the Swedish East India company launched over a hundred trading voyages to China, with each journey taking up to a year and a half or longer to complete. The ships sailing through icy winds and tropical heat is a story of adventure and of riches as well as unremitting toil at sea. A full-scale replica of one of these sailing ships, the “Götheborg”, is presently undertaking a historic voyage to China and back following its original route, including a stop over in old Batavia, as most of these ships did during the 18th century.
For more information on the Swedish Ship Götheborg, its voyage and events and activities that will take place during its stopover in Jakarta, please visit:
www.soic.se
