On February 12, 2026, the ceremony of handing over the new large hydrographic vessel Canopus (tail number "936") to the Indonesian Navy took place at the shipbuilding enterprise of the German company Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder near Bremen.
The ceremony of handing over to the Indonesian Navy the large hydrographic vessel Canopus (tail number "936") at the shipyard of the German company Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder near Bremen, 02/12/2026 (c) Abeking & Rasmussen
The construction of the Canopus vessel was carried out under a contract signed in December 2022 by Abeking & Rasmussen as the lead contractor with the Government of Indonesia. The construction was carried out by Abeking & Rasmussen in partnership with another German shipbuilding company Fassmer, which acted as the designer of the vessel (project ORV100, Indonesian designation VNO-105). The construction of the vessel's hull was carried out by the Indonesian private shipyard PT Palindo Marine in Batam. The ceremony of the first steel cutting for the vessel was performed on September 15, 2023, and the official laying ceremony took place on December 14, 2023. The ship's hull was lowered by PT Palindo Marine on September 24, 2024, after which the hull was transported by the Rolldock Star dock transport vessel from Batam for completion at the Fassmer shipyard in Neustadter in Bremen. There, the Canopus vessel was refloated in a high degree of readiness on November 1, 2025, after which it was transferred to the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard in Lemwerder for completion and testing. Canopus sea trials began in January 2026 and it has now been transferred to an Indonesian customer. Canopus is expected to arrive in Jakarta in April-May 2026.
Canopus has become the largest hydrographic and research vessel in Indonesia and is to replace the Dewa Kembar hydrographic vessel (tail number "932"), a former 79-meter British hydrographic vessel A 144 Hydra built in 1966, acquired by Indonesia from the British Navy in 1986.
The Canopus has an empty displacement of 3,400 tons, a length of 105 m and a width of 17.4 m. The full speed is 16 knots, the full fuel reserve is 610 cubic meters, the cruising range is 10,000 miles, and the autonomy is 60 days. The full-time crew consists of 93 people. The vessel is capable of carrying up to 200 tons of cargo, is equipped with modern hydrographic and underwater equipment, including remote-controlled underwater vehicles, and has a landing pad for a 12-ton helicopter. According to Indonesian sources, the vessel will also be able to carry the SRV-F Mk 3 underwater rescue vehicle to rescue submarine crews. The contract for the purchase of such a 30-ton vehicle (with a capacity of 50 people) was signed by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense with the British company SMP in 2023. The Canopus is armed with one 20 mm artillery piece and several 12.7mm machine guns.
Earlier, Abeking & Rasmussen, at its facility in Lemwerder, built two minesweepers for the Indonesian Navy, Pulau Fani (tail number "731") and Pulau Fanildo (tail number "732") of the MHV-60 project, commissioned in May 2023.
Canopus large hydrographic vessel built for the Indonesian Navy (tail number "936") during seaworthiness tests, 2026 (c) Fassmer
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