PT Logindo Samudramakmur Tbk is committed to providing integrated maritime services which support the upstream oil and gas industry. The Indonesian company was established in 1995 by Eddy Kurniawan Logam and Rudy Kurniawan Logam. Current CCO Ragil Marzuki explained to Hannah Barnett how the company has grown by prioritising the condition of its fleet.
PTLogindo Samudramakmur Tbk started as a modest venture. I t operated a small fleet of tugs and mooring boats to support marine offshore vessels for the oil and gas industry in Indonesia. The company had one main client, TotalEnergies, the French energy company, operating in East Kalimantan, an Indonesian province on the island of Borneo.
“Then we started to grow,” recalled CCO Ragil Marzuki, “serving other oil and gas companies from the western to the eastern parts of Indonesia. We now support exploration drilling, development drilling, operations production, surveys, offshore construction and so on. Complementing this growth, Logindo began acquiring larger vessels, increasing its portfolio, and we went public in 2013.”
The company’s public floatation was made possible when, in 2011, Logindo invited Pacific Radiance Pte Ltd to become its strategic partner and further develop its business. At the end of 2013, Logindo listed its shares on the Indonesian stock market for the first time.
The logistics of Logindo
The company is now a robust, wellestablished presence in the Indonesian archipelago, and is able to lend its expe rience further afield too. “We mainly service the South-East Asian market, because we have a big network of our brokers here in Indonesia, as well as in Singapore and Malaysia,” Mr Marzuki said. “The demand is high in Malaysia. And just recently, we brought our vessels to a job in Myanmar. Also, we've been working in Cambodia. These are areas that have projects, but they don't have enough vessels available. So, they look to Indonesian companieslike us.”
Logindo has its main office in Jakarta, and a site office in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the Indonesian province on the island of Borneo. It also has its own dockyard facilities at Handil in East Kalimantan. On average, head office personnel runs to about 80, with 40 in the Balikpapan site office.
Mr Marzuki was optimistic, but realistic about how the company will continue to grow its fleet in the near future.
“Following an increase in demand since Q2 of 2022, Logindo may acquire assets depending on market conditions,” he said. “As one of the leading marine offshore companies, Logindo is comfortable making predictions on the movements of the market, so acquiring assets will be based on our best assessment.
“Logindo’s owner is thinking about buying vessels in China and Malaysia, as demand for services like ours is very high in the Asia and Pacific regions at the moment. But the most important thing for us is that the company maintains its fleet optimisation and utilisation. So, we expect to acquire some vessels; we are having a look around, but we don't have any new ones yet.”
Vessels of all varieties
Logindo currently boasts 45 vessels of seven different types, from crew boats to landing crafts. “Our main big vessel is the
anchor handling tug, and we have nine units of those available,” Mr Marzuki said.
As a company servicing the offshore industry, the condition of the fleet is of paramount importance. It maintains high standards, according to Mr Marzuki.
“Logindo is well known for its fleet performance,” he said. “We keep our vessels seaworthy and up to marine standards. Our oil and gas clients sometimes have requirements beyond the common HSE offshore marine standards, and we meet those too. We have a long history of keeping vessels in prime condition.
“We follow regulations to the IMO standard. Big maintenance jobs are conducted every five years. In between that we need to do intermediate surveys, which are conducted every two and a half years. Even running the motor for too many hours can put the engine life itself at risk. We always
need to work out a balance between the revenue that we're getting, compared to the maintenance that we need to do.”
Surviving turbulent times
Closely liaising with partners has proved essential for Logindo to sustain its high level of maintenance work.
“Our relationship with suppliers is a key component when ensuring the fleet is kept in the best condition possible,” said Mr Marzuki . “Our choice of partners reflects our many years as a stable presence in the marine industry.”
He added that the pandemic introduced a harsher selection process than usual: “During the Covid era, lots of suppliers and vendors were hit. Those who can still maintain their businesses and support Logindo are basically pre-selected by nature. They are the strongest partners.”
Of course, as Mr Marzuki acknowledged, Logindo was not immune to the difficulties presented by the pandemic either.
“Everyone was affected by Covid. But we got through it,” he said. “I believe we must be doing something right. It was not easy. The owner had to go to the bank to restruc -
ture. And it was not only the financial side, but the maintenance and the operational sides. We had to work out how to reduce our opex. Those kind of things have a global impact because some of our spare parts came from overseas, like the electrical system which we import from Norway and from Italy. So, it really impacted us. But not just Logindo, everyone around us too.”
The future of Logindo
Logindo is a modern business, not about to rest on its laurels by limiting its work scope to the oil and gas industry. Mr Marzuki acknowledged the growing global market for offshore wind, and said it is something the company is keeping an eye on.
“In the future, we are looking to other potential ventures such as the wind farm
projects coming to Korea and Taiwan,” he said. “I believe Indonesia will follow those countries into the offshore wind industry. There are initial studies happening here already. That would be a good option for us; to not always be focusing on oil and gas, but expanding into a new form of energy – one that will require support.”
The CEO emphasised that Logindo has navigated the stormy waters of the last few years and emerged stronger than ever. He presented an optimistic but coherent vision for the future: “We want to maintain our brand as one of the oldest and most reliable marine offshore companies. In addition, we must sustain full care of our fleet, especially those vessels
that are aging. We want to keep the good team that make up our workforce and continue our journey, facing ever more challenging markets.” n
