It would seem like the short life of Indonesian Navy’s fast missile carbon fibre composites made trimaran, KRI Klewang is over after catching fire whilst pierside in East Java.
A fire raged through the Klewang-625 at the naval port in Banyuwangi, a maintenance worker and a Navy officer had to be hospitalised for smoke inhalation and The Rp 114 billion (US$11.91 million) trimaran was completely destroyed in the incident.
Indonesian Eastern Fleet (Armatim) spokesman Lt. Col. Marine Yayan Sugiana told The Jakarta Post that the vessel was undergoing maintenance by its builder, PT Lundin Industry.
The vessel had yet to be officially handed over to the Navy. It was still undergoing maintenance checks by PT Lundin Industry
The cause of the fire has been attributed to an electrical short-circuit however despite official explanations, speculation remains that the fire might have been set deliberately in a sabotage attempt.
Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman for the House of Representatives Commission, which oversees defence and foreign affairs, said that the timing of the incident was suspicious, given that the House was set to pass a bill on Tuesday on the domestic defence industry.
The Klewang was one of our most sophisticated boat developments. Could this have been an attempt to tarnish the domestic defence industry? This is a suspicion that’s growing
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator also questioned the official finding, arguing that it was unlikely that such a technologically advanced piece of equipment could catch fire so easily.
How likely is it that this boat could simply catch fire like a cheap boarding room? This is a sophisticated boat, and the scale of the fire was huge