Pelni Shipping Line: Indonesia

Back in the 1990’s I was fortunate enough to travel inter-island aboard a Pelni ship and found them to be excellent and quite an adventurous way to get around.

All larger passenger ships on regular routes in Indonesian waters are operated by P.T. Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni), the national Indonesian shipping company.

One may board Pelni ships either for the purpose of bridging the distance from point A to point B in Indonesia, or one may board Pelni ships for the pleasure of sea travel itself. Either way, it wins hands down over whatever the alternatives may be.

For those who travel on Pelni ships not for the purpose of getting to a particular destination but just for the pleasure of travelling by sea, then one of the newer ships, such as the MV Kelud and MV Sinabung. Both sail between Medan on Sumatra and Jakarta.

Other new ships are the MV Bukit Siguntang and the MV Kabuna which sail to a larger number of destinations.

Check out the Pelni website for full details on schedules, ships, destinations and costs.