The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional; BRIN) has awarded French shipbuilder Piriou a contract for the construction of two research vessels.
One vessel will be used for hydro-oceanographic research in offshore waters, particularly in the South China Sea within Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, while the other vessel will be optimised for operation in coastal waters. Construction of both vessels will be undertaken at Piriou's shipyard in Vietnam.
The construction of the BRIN vessels is in line with an Indonesian Government initiative intended to strengthen the country's oceanographic research capabilities.
The research vessel construction project is being co-funded by the French Development Agency.
Both vessels will be equipped to conduct multibeam bathymetric surveys. The hydro-oceanographic vessel will also boast a high-resolution sub-bottom profiler for sediment layer characterisation.
Both vessels will also feature ultra-short baseline acoustic positioning systems to enable the deployment and positioning of remotely operated vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicles.
