Indonesia, Russia Advance Shipbuilding Industry Cooperation

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia, and Russia are opening new opportunities in the maritime sector. Both countries are exploring cooperation in the shipbuilding industry to strengthen their national ship manufacturing capabilities.

These exploratory discussions took place during the forum Building an Indonesia–Russia Shipbuilding Partnership: Developing Maritime Industrial Cooperation for Indonesia, Russia, and the ASEAN Market, held as part of INNOPROM 2026 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The forum brought together stakeholders from Indonesia's and Russia's shipbuilding industries to discuss investment, technology transfer, human resource development, and joint production. This collaboration aims to enhance the competitiveness of Indonesia’s maritime industry and expand access to the ASEAN market.

“Cooperation in the shipbuilding industry with Russia presents an opportunity for Indonesia to strengthen its maritime industrial capacity through investment, technology transfer, human resource development, and production collaboration,” said Indonesian Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in a statement in Yekaterinburg, as quoted on the Ministry’s official website on Monday, July 13, 2026.

Minister Agus said that the partnership with Russia is a strategic step to strengthen the capabilities of the national shipbuilding industry. According to him, this cooperation is expected to enhance the industry’s competitiveness while opening up broader access to regional markets.

The forum is a follow-up to the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Indonesia-Russia shipbuilding cooperation in December 2025. The agreement covers shipbuilding, maritime technology, marine engineering, industrial human resource development, and investment.

As an archipelagic nation with more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia needs a strong shipbuilding industry to support logistics, inter-island transportation, fisheries, and offshore energy activities. Meanwhile, Russia has expertise in ship design, propulsion systems, and maritime engineering technology.

Director General of Resilience, Regional Development, and International Industrial Access (KPAII) at the Ministry, Tri Supondy, noted that the two countries possess complementary strengths. Indonesia has a large market and a growing industry, while Russia offers technological capabilities and shipbuilding expertise.

“We hope this forum will lead to concrete collaboration among industry players—ranging from technology transfer, human resource development, and investment to joint production—which can strengthen the national shipbuilding industry and expand access to the ASEAN market,” said Tri.

In addition to the construction of passenger ships, ferries, logistics vessels, fishing vessels, and patrol boats, the cooperation also covers the development of ship components and the enhancement of maritime workforce competencies. The government expects this partnership to deliver tangible projects that will accelerate the transformation of Indonesia’s shipbuilding industry and strengthen its position as a maritime manufacturing hub in ASEAN. ***