Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine July 2014 | Page 131

Travel | Raja Ampat

of years of Sulawesi shipbuilding tradition
and, as a charter vessel, it is dedicated to
blazing a trail into the ‘new world’ of some
of Indonesia’s most exciting and rarely
explored frontiers for adventure travel.
The Dunia Baru brings the age of exploration
to life again, but it does so with a level of
sheer luxury that is almost unmatched
anywhere in the world.
“I wanted Dunia Baru to be much more than
just the best boat ever built in Indonesia,” the
ship’s Java-based owner Mark Robba says. “I
wanted it to be numbers one, two and three.”
No expense was spared in the building
and equipping of the ship, which is a living
tribute to Indonesian craftsmanship and
shipbuilding traditions. The painstaking
seven-year building project was overseen
by experts from a long line of Konjo
shipwrights of Sulawesi: the ironwood hull
was constructed in Kalimantan and it was
towed to Bali where the carefully designed
superstructure was built by the finest
Balinese carpenters and craftsmen. Stateof-the-art engines, mechanics, navigation
equipment, communications and fully
integrated sound, light and entertainment
systems that are found on only the best
superyachts were imported, but the boat
herself is 100 per cent Indonesian, as is the
crew. Shipwright Jamal, for example, is a
fifth-generation boatbuilder who remained
on the crew after sailing the ship on her
maiden voyage to his home town in Ara,
Sulawesi, for a traditional blessing from
his Konjo spiritual leaders.
While Dunia Baru can take 14 passengers,
she boasts a full-time crew of no less than 18,
and the man in charge of this little naval elite
force from Sulawesi, Bali, Flores, Java and
Ambon is Captain Syamsudin Riantobi, one
of the best skippers in Indonesia. He has

Dunia Baru’s Captain,
Syamsudin Riantobi.
Dunia Baru was built by Konjo
(Sulawesi) shipwrights in Borneo and
Bali using the old methods but is
rigged and equipped in line with the
world’s most prestigious superyachts.
Dive instructor Ramon Estrada.
Getting to know the Dunia
Baru's 18-strong crew is a crash
course in the incredible diversity
of this fascinating country:
they hail from 5 different islands
(with 3 different religions).

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