Destinasea

Indonesia has always been a maritime country. In the past, most of its people made a living from ocean travel. Indonesian phinisi ships were well known in various parts of the world, and that continues till this day. The abundance of Indonesian agricultural products is traded using ocean routes, these famous routes, used for thousands of years, have made Indonesia an icon for maritime trade. Today, marine tourism opportunities are developing throughout the Indonesian archipelago, allowing tourists to visit evermore beautiful destinations. 

SeaTrek is a sailing tourism company that was founded in 1990, they started with one sailing ship “Katharina” and added another ship in 2010 called “Ombak Putih” to meet the growing demands of the sailing tourism industry. These two tourist ships are classified as a cultural heritage ship of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO, operating in the Central and Eastern parts of Indonesia, following in the footsteps of the adventurer Alfred Russel Wallace, a Welsh explorer geographer and anthropologist, who explored Central and Eastern Indonesia in 1859. SeaTrek ships sail according to the zoning map recommended by the Indonesian government, namely Wakatobi in Sulawesi, Komodo National Park in the waters of Labuan Bajo, Flores, and Bird's Head Seascape Raja Ampat Marine Protected Area, Alor Marine Protected Area, and also stop by some beautiful islands between these places.

Signing Blue is an idea from WWF-Indonesia, a program for the improvement of marine tourism based on three pillars, namely aspects of the natural environment in terms of marine diversity and reduction of the ecological footprint, socio-cultural aspects, and aspects of management effectiveness. These pillars are in line with SeaTrek's mission to become a better, more environmentally responsible and sustainable ship operator. SeaTrek joined Signing Blue in 2017. 

SeaTrek's Katharina and Ombak Putih have made significant improvements in their food division by regularly holding meetings with the Signing Blue team to discuss sustainable and suitable seafood options. SeaTrek buys seafood from local fishermen with strict conditions, namely only buying fish that are already mature so that they do not pose a threat of extinction. It also avoids some sensitive and endangered species and pays attention to the size of the fish according to the Signing Blue standards. It doesn't stop there, SeaTrek can also meet the needs of different dining styles of its guests, such as vegetarian, halal, and so on. Food ingredients such as vegetables and fruits are obtained from local farmers to help the local economy.

Good sustainability efforts are carried out by SeaTrek, both on land at their office and at sea on their ships. Starting from eliminating the use of single-use plastic bottles. SeaTrek provides its guests with reusable drinking water bottles free of charge.

SeaTrek strives for energy conservation in the office by optimizing the use of an open-space style office. This means that the SeaTrek office area does not have to use air conditioning units and no need for a lot of lighting. The lighting system in the office also uses Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which are both efficient and last for a very long time. SeaTrek urges guests to save water and electricity by turning them off when not needed, guests are also explained how SeaTrek strives to make each journey more sustainable and puts written signs in the ship's cabin. SeaTrek limits the use of its engines by opening the sails of the ship when the wind is strong enough. SeaTrek also undertakes water conservation efforts as much as possible. 

SeaTrek has a good waste management policy and implements waste management activities in the office as well as on their ships. Waste segregation is carried out, the waste is divided into three categories, namely wet waste, plastic waste, and paper waste. At the head office, SeaTrek has collaborated with Eco Bali, a local waste company. Garbage is sorted according to categories on board and cooperates with ports of call for waste transportation. Waste water treatment is carried out on SeaTrek ships using an Oil Water Separator (OWS) machine which is used to separate oil compounds from water. Waste in the form of oil produced by the OWS engine is placed in a special tank and handed over to the local waste manager at a trusted stopover dock. As said by Hata, SeaTrek's Second Engineer, "Water discharged into the sea from ships is completely uncontaminated with oil, this is an effort not to pollute the environment, especially the sea."

Many efforts to conserve the natural environment are carried out by SeaTrek. SeaTrek's ships always pay attention when anchored at certain depths in order to preserve coral reefs that are still alive at those depths. The use of mooring buoys when not sailing is also kept to a minimum. SeaTrek provides its guests with locally made, coral-friendly sunscreens and educates that the Oxybenzone content in conventional sunscreens can damage coral reefs. This makes guests understand and be more aware so that they change their mindset on their next trip.

SeaTrek has partnered with Ocean Gardener on coral reef restoration. SeaTrek management and staff participate in a coral reef restoration program at Sanur Beach, Bali in 2019. This coral reef restoration program is an ongoing program, SeaTrek management and staff monitors coral reefs every two weeks in order to clean overgrown algae and also Drupella Snails, a type of sea slug that feeds on coral reefs.

A good Code of Conduct is very important for marine tourism companies, for example snorkeling tours with Whale Sharks which are a protected marine animal, the staff clearly informs their guests not to take photos using flash / lights, not allowed to touch marine life, keep your distance when swimming, and so on. SeaTrek maintains a good Code of Conduct, and makes sure to convey their Code of Conduct to their guests before any activities involving diving and snorkeling.

SeaTrek also carries out conservation programs on land. For this, Seatrek collaborates with Wow Borneo in orangutan conservation efforts in Palangkaraya, Kalimantan. SeaTrek also collaborates with the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center in North Sulawesi to help conserve the yaki, an endangered creature that is protected by the government. It does not stop there, SeaTrek managed to bring its guests to participate in the Tropical Bear conservation program which is also located at the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center. As stated by Nita, the Operational Director of SeaTrek, “We bring guests to the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center to help create food for the Tropical Bears. This Tropical Bear is a wild animal that is threatened with extinction due to its diminishing wildlife habitat."

Various kinds of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs are carried out by SeaTrek which are in line with the social concept of 'direct impact activities'. Traveling to remote villages is one of the activities in their Scheduled Trips, where SeaTrek provides a Water Filter water filter for drinking water for free to the village head which will later be placed at the village hall to be used by all villagers, as it is difficult for these villages to get clean water suitable for consumption. Moreover, the SeaTrek team educates the village children by giving out books for free, these books are mostly on marine sustainability, such as Ocean Sustainability, Wayan and the Turtle King, and the Sea Heroes. These books are in two languages namely Indonesian and English, this allows village children to learn English whilst learning how to preserve underwater life.

In collaboration with the Pick under the Surface initiative, a program for the distribution of free diving goggles for children has been carried out. The goal is that children in villages, especially those located on the coast, can see the beauty and diversity of marine life and are encouraged to maintain its sustainability. This program has been running since 2019 and has distributed hundreds of diving goggles. Another program together with Pick Under the Surface is to teach children how to swim, as there are still many children who don't know how to swim, despite Indonesia being an archipelagic country.

SeaTrek has succeeded in cooperating with its guests to participate in a sustainable CSR program. One example is the program to distribute free reading glasses to the elderly of remote villages. In this case, it is guests who volunteer to bring or buy the reading glasses. This program has proven to have an immediate impact, as Nita said, “Many elderly people are very happy when our guests are given reading glasses, they admit that they are happy because they can finally see clearly what they have not seen so far.”

Promoting local culture has become one of the contents of SeaTrek's 12-day Scheduled Trips, they often promote local Flores culture, which produce world-famous woven fabrics. In collaboration with local weaving craftsmen, SeaTrek brings its guests to buy Flores woven fabrics as souvenirs or for their private collections. On these trips, SeaTrek also travels to historical places, namely visits to forts from the Dutch and Spanish eras on the Spice Islands of Banda, Ambon, and Ternate. SeaTrek tour guides are also encouraged to tell the rich history of these famous places.

SeaTrek prioritizes hiring Indonesian citizens, particularly local residents. This is in line with SeaTrek's concept of 'Seeing Indonesia Through Indonesian Eyes'. The company also prioritizes the completeness of legal documents of their staff. All SeaTrek staff have an employment contract following the labor laws of Indonesia. Coaching is regularly carried out by SeaTrek for its staff, starting from training on job descriptions to training on survival and nature conservation. There are external trainings as well, one of which is with Green Fins Indonesia, these are related to survival, namely using mooring buoys as much as possible, lowering anchors to a certain depth so as not to damage coral reefs, and processing waste on ships.

Apart from the training programs, SeaTrek's efforts to improve guest satisfaction include making a list of questions about SeaTrek's services when the trip ends. Reviews and comments on Facebook and on the Trip Advisor page become a benchmark for measuring guest satisfaction. A good benchmark proven by returning guests who repeatedly come to join SeaTrek's marine tourism trips.

SeaTrek maintains good safety procedures. Their ships are equipped with emergency alarms. If the alarm sirens, guests, staff and crew must assemble at the meeting point and a headcount is performed, making sure no one is missing. SeaTrek's vessels are also equipped with Light Fire Extinguishers (APAR) and safety jackets both inside and outside the cabin. Alternative evacuation routes have also been provided if the main route is impassable.

Both of SeaTrek's ships are equipped with good navigation systems, critical in the case of a man overboard, as the system will help guide the ship retrace its path. The emergency float tires are equipped with a light that automatically turns on when exposed to water, very helpful in the event of a man overboard at night.

SeaTrek has updated safety procedures during the pandemic. Guests are required to submit a letter of negative COVID-19 result from the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test valid 24 hours before boarding the ship. All ships, especially cabins, have been sterilized and disinfected. SeaTrek's ships are all equipped with hand sanitizers, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, several SeaTrek trip activities were hampered, such as visiting villages, historical sites, and CSR programs. SeaTrek's hope is that the situation will quickly return to normal so that it can carry out activities that have a direct positive impact on the environment and socio-economic culture. As stated by Frank, “We hope to be able to carry out activities as usual soon and bring guests to see the beauty of the bottom and the top of the Indonesian sea, giving guests inner and outer satisfaction because they know that they have made positive changes related to environmental sustainability. and do good things related to the socio-economics of the local community.”

SeaTrek has planned several strategies for positive change going forward. One of them is with the WWF-Indonesia team, namely the Carbon Footprint calculation program. In this program SeaTrek calculates the expenditure of carbon emissions released into the Earth's atmosphere. SeaTrek hopes that this program will be more optimal in its ongoing efforts to reduce the carbon footprint resulting from marine tourism activities.

The return to a growing global economy is the beginning of the end for the pandemic. The community’s positive response, with its renewable innovations, have spawned new opportunities for people from all walks of life. With this new enthusiasm and optimism, Indonesia will get through the pandemic and recover any lost economic growth.

Please click the link to see the profile video of Seatrek Sailing Adventures https://youtu.be/bun_jG-MpqY