KRI Semarang (594) is the fifth of the Indonesian Navy.[1]
Indonesia signed a US$150 million contract in December 2004[2] and the first two Makassar-class were built in Busan, South Korea. The remaining two were built at Indonesia's PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya with assistance from Daesun. The contract for the third and fourth LPD to be built in Indonesia was signed with PT PAL on March 28, 2005.[3]
See also: Hospital ships designated for the COVID-19 pandemic. She was laid down on 28 August 2017 and launched on 3 August 2018 by PT PAL Indonesia. Commissioned on 21 January 2019 as a hospital ship temporarily while the were under construction.
The ship transported 68 crews of the cruise ship who underwent observation for the coronavirus disease 2019 in Sebaru Kecil Island, Thousand Islands, to the Port of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on 15 March 2020.[4] She transported hand sanitizers from Singapore to Batam on 9 April 2020.[5] On 18 May 2020, she was dispatched to carry COVID-19 testing kits and hand sanitizers from Yayasan Temasek Singapura, Singapore, to Indonesia.[6]