I just received a phone call from an old friend of mine, Yunus Kermite. He is a naval architect who works for Department of Marine and Fishery. He is responsible for assessing the gross tonnage and net tonnage of fishing boats. We talked a lot this afternoon mentioning the good old memories of our past time in department of naval architecture the University of Pattimura.
Then, I said that I was about to send him a CD containing textbooks in pdf formats such as basic ship theory, marine screw propeller and the free version of ship design software, delftship.
The number of titles is around 50. Most of them are related to ship design and ship theory. I personally still understand this subject but I don't work in shipyard. With free ship design software in my hand, I think, I will write a book or website about how to design ship hulls, and other subjects on resistance and propulsion of ships or the stability calculation of ship.
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world consisting of more than 17,000 islands. Ships and boats are needed to connect the islands for transporting people and goods. Therefore, the Indonesian government should invest a lot of money in developing its maritime industry. It is sad to see that many universities that have department of naval architecture and marine engineering do not get enough financial support from the government.
I hope that the opening of Departement Kelautan dan Perikanan will support the educational institutions that have such study programs as Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
