The sea toll program is not a series of toll roads built on the sea. Instead, it is a program about marine logistics transportation established in 2015 by the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo. This program is intended to smooth goods allocation in Indonesia by connecting Indonesia’s main ports.
Prices in the eastern part of Indonesia, like West Papua, are very different from the prices in the main islands like Java because of the lack of infrastructure. With the sea toll program, price inequality in entire islands of Indonesia can be reduced.
Java-West Papua Direct Connection
It is very clear that Java is the main island of Indonesia. Not only is it the most populated island, but Java is also the economic center of Indonesia.
Suppose the intention is to reduce economic disparity between the western and eastern parts of Indonesia with the sea toll program. In that case, it is important to connect Java, which is in the west part of Indonesia, with islands in the eastern part of Indonesia, specifically Papua.
Java and Papua have been directly connected by adding a new sea toll route. The Ministry of Transportation connected the two islands by adding a route called ‘T-30’, which goes back and forth from Port of Tanjung Perak, East Java, to Port of Kaimana, West Papua.
The Ministry of Transportation has also modified some of the sea toll routes to optimize the distribution of goods, especially in remote and undeveloped areas. The modification includes changes to the base ports and additions of stopover ports. One of the routes that have been modified is route T-11, which also connects Java and Papua.
Currently, there are a total of 34 sea toll routes in Indonesia, two of which directly connect Java and West Papua. Those routes are route T-11, which serves the route of Tanjung Perak – Fak Fak – Tanjung Perak, and route T-30.
There are also the other Java-Papua connection routes H-5 and T-9, which serve the routes as follows:
- H-5: Tanjung Perak – Merauke – Agats – Timika (Pomako) – Tanjung Perak
- T-9: Tanjung Perak – Oransbari – Wasior – Nabire – Serui – Waren – Sarmi – Tanjung Perak
The Route T-19
Other than a direct connection from Java, there is also a sea toll route that operates only on the island of Papua. The route is called ‘T-19’, and it connects several ports in Papua Island, namely Port of Merauke, Port of Kokas, Port of Sorong, Port of Korido, and Port of Jayapura/Depapre.
The route has solved the logistics distribution problem, specifically rice, in Papua and West Papua. It can solve the problem since the route serves exclusively for the logistics distribution in the Indonesian part of Papua Island rather than connected to Java, which makes the distribution more efficient.
The route T-19 has consistently improved in each voyage which furthers the logistics distribution progress in the area. There are also some superior commodities other than rice as the cargo for the ship on the route. Those superior commodities are chipping stones, stone ash, and sand.
Sea Toll Vessels
Similar to the regular toll road, the sea toll program functions mainly to improve the economy and even the development of an entire nation. The difference is in how they operate. The regular toll road uses the construction of concrete or tarmac to be passed by cars, trucks, or other land vehicles.
On the other hand, the sea toll program uses various vessels that pass designed routes to distribute goods between islands in Indonesia. There are six types of purposely built vessels to operate the sea toll program: cattle ship, main container ship, feeder ship, pioneer ship, open deck ship, and people’s ship.
- Cattle ships are specifically used to move live cattle like cows, goats, and pigs from one port to another. This type of ship operates in areas with a notable number of cattle industries.
- The main container ship is a type of ship that can carry up to 100 twenty-foot equivalent units. Because of its enormous body, the main container ship cannot reach small ports.
- Feeder ships are similar to main container ships, but they are smaller and transport fewer containers. They can also be called ‘connector ships’.
- A Pioneer ship is a type of ship that transports goods and people on small routes. It also connects small ports with the bigger ones.
- Open deck ships have purposely open decks and open ramp doors. They have similar sizes and functions, but they can also be used for tourism.
- People’s ship is the smallest type of ship that operates on the sea toll program. It is used to transport people between small islands.
Moreover, the sea toll program in West Papua mainly distributes numerous cargo between base ports in Papua or other Islands. Therefore, the ships that are used have to be big. Specifically, the ships are KM Logistik Nusantara and KM Kendhaga Nusantara, the main container ship and a feeder ship respectively.
With the sea toll program, Indonesia’s logistics distribution can only be more advanced in the future. There is still plenty of room for improvement. Still, it has been huge progress for Indonesia in terms of economic equality between the western part of Indonesia and the eastern part of Indonesia, especially Papua and West Papua.
