We wish to take this opportunity to thank all our loyal customers for the support and custom afforded to Gilicat since its inaugural run in July 2007. The response to the product from all sectors of the industry and market, has been nothing short of remarkable.

The EU position on Indonesian aviation took all of us by surprise and resulted in a fever pitched and challenging beginning  for Gilicat. After the dust settled, we calculated that for a period of about ten days, based upon a ten hour day, Gilicat reservation staff (two people only  at that time) booked  one passenger every three minutes.  And this did not include cancellation sand amendments!

If our reservation systems were ever going to be tested, this event was a great opportunity right at the outset! Apologies for those of you who became frustrated with a constantly engaged telephone. We are sure you can understand, as we were "all in the same boat" so to speak. There have been many improvements in our reservations system since the hectic early weeks!

Since commencement of operations on July 15th, Gilicat has provided a daily scheduled service from Padang Bai to Lombok and Gili Trawangan. To date we have logged an impressive 92% on-time departure and arrival record and safely carried over 5000 passengers. We cancelled only two scheduled departures in Dec 2007 when the Harbour Master banned vessel movements form Padang Bai due to weather patters associated with Cyclonic activity North West of Australia.

Similarly  in August 2007, we were forced to cancel two late afternoon charters due to extreme weather and sea conditions. And although we did our best to support you as best we could, we apologize to those of you who were affected.

We have had only two minor mechanical issues. This is a credit to our engineering team. In both of these cases Gilicat chartered vessels to ensure your passengers were provided with the sea transfer per our joint commitment.

Considering July and August are the most problematic months for sea operations in the Lombok Strait, I trust you will agree this is an enviable record and one of which we are justly proud.

We continue to operate successfully from our base in Padang Bai. Embarkation and Disembarkation facilities have been improved  by construction of  a wooden dock at the end of the concrete jetty. This allows us access to the jetty even at low tide, eliminating the inconvenience of disembarkation via dinghy we were  forced to resort  to on  rare occasions previously. Any one want to buy a dinghy???

In Teluk Kode, our port of entry and exit in Lombok, we are constructing an eight meter long floating jetty to facilitate improved disembarkation and embarkation in Lombok.

Our transfer service has also developed as planned, with direct Hotel transfers now provided to a growing percentage of our passengers.

And of course, our hard working porters continue to provide luggage services in Padang Bai, Lombok and Trawangan.

In short, PT Samudera Expedesi Aman, proud owners of Gilicat, has achieved all and more than it set out to achieve in it's first six months. Hence, the "BIGGER" news....

When you have the best product in the marketplace, the only thing to do, is to improve it. In a clear demonstration of it's commitment to linking Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands by sea, PT SEA has contracted the purchase of a new improved vessel to service the Lombok and Gili Trawangan route. Designed by a world renowned Naval Architect as a small fast ferry, she was constructed by one of Western Australia's leading aluminum boat builders  to the exacting standards required by Australian Maritime authorities in order to carry passengers.

The new vessel is a 13m aluminum monohull. She is powered by 3 x 300 hp Suzuki four stroke engines. That is a massive 900 hp of power to move up to 32 passengers in fully enclosed comfort between Bali and Lombok.

In fair weather, the vessel boarding doors and windows can be opened to further increase passengers comfort. Our fair weather cruising speed will be in excess of 30 knots and our travel time just over one hour. Our average speed across a range of all sea conditions will also significantly increase. This will slice 20-30 minutes over our previous travel time !! There is nothing in Indonesia, let alone Bali, to compare with this product.

We anticipate this vessel will be capable of making a double run daily, bringing our maximum daily passenger capacity to 20 return on Gilicat 1 and 64  return on Gilicat 11. A total of over 80 passengers if both vessels are operating. We are awaiting the import of our new engines, but anticipate the new vessel will be in operation between March 1 and March 15, 2008. We look forward to inviting to and inspection and launch party.

We also look forward to your continuing support and extend a warm welcome to your clients.

Best wishes from the Gilicat Team !!

Specifications:

LOA....................13.m
Beam..................4.1m
Draught...............0.6m
Displacement.......5.5 tonnes
Propulsion...........3 x 300 hp Suzuki Four Stroke outboards
Fuel....................1500 litres

Passengers 42 + 2. (We will carry only 32 plus three crew)
Top speed...........40 knots