SAIL BUNAKEN LARGEST MARITIME EVENT IN ASIA

SAIL BUNAKEN LARGEST MARITIME EVENT IN ASIA

Sail Bunaken 2009 which will involve 24 warships and 150 sail boats as well as cruise ships from 26 countries will be the largest maritime event ever organized in Asia.

"This will be the largest maritime event ever held in Indonesia and Asia," Aji Sularso of the Sail Bunaken 2009 Organizing Committee said here recently.

The Sail Bunaken to be held in Manado, North Sulawesi, on August 12-20, 2009, would be part of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) activities as the theme would be "Protect Our Oceans for the Future Generation".

He said the event was expected to help promote Manado to be a world tourist destination.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Moeklas Sidiq, deputy chief of staff of the Indonesian Navy, said the planned participation of 24 warships from various countries reflected good relations among the world`s navies and would constitute the largest fleet review ever held by Indonesia, as one of the world?s largest maritime country.

The Sail Bunaken 2009 implementation will cost around Rp5.75 billion.

The event`s programs will include the Indonesian Fleet Review, a Yacht Rally, Festival Bunaken Expo, Bunaken Carnival, Jetski Trans Equator Touring, Bunaken Diving Competition, and International Fishing Competition.

The four-day World Ocean Conference (WOC), which was held in Manado, on May 11-15, 2009, adopted the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD).

In their 21-point declaration, participants of the conference stated among others that they would strive to achieve long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of marine living resources and coastal habitats through appropriate application of precautionary and ecosystem approaches.

They stressed the need for national strategies for sustainable management of coastal and marine ecosystems as protective and productive buffer zones that deliver valuable ecosystem goods and services that have significant potential to address the adverse effects of climate change.