On September 24, 2026, the Indonesian port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta hosted the commissioning ceremony of the former Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi light aircraft carrier, which became the largest combat unit of the Indonesian Navy. During the ceremony, the Italian flag was lowered and the Indonesian flag was raised on the aircraft carrier. The ceremony was attended by the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces, General Agus Subiyanto. "The ship" was renamed Sriwijaya (tail number "100") in the Indonesian Navy, meaning "brilliant victory" in Hebrew, in honor of the medieval state of Srivijaya, which existed in the 5th - 14th centuries on the territory of present-day Sumatra, Java and Malaysia with its capital in Palembang.
The former Italian light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi is part of the Indonesian Navy under the new name Sriwijaya. Tajung Priok, 09/27/2026 (c) Jauhsekali / Wikipedia
The light aircraft carrier C 551 Giuseppe Garibaldi was built for the Italian Navy by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri at the shipyard in Monalcone, where it was launched on June 11, 1983, and entered service with the Italian Navy on September 30, 1985, serving as its flagship until 2011. The ship underwent average repairs in 2003 and 2013-2014. Giuseppe Garibaldi had a standard built displacement of 10100 tons, and the total water mixing after the repair and modernization in 2003 reached 14150 tons. The maximum length of the aircraft carrier is 180.2 m, the width of the flight deck is 30.4 m.
On May 22, 2023, Giuseppe Garibaldi was decommissioned by the Italian Navy, and on October 1, 2024, he was removed from the list of the active fleet. For some time, plans were discussed to convert the decommissioned ship into a floating spaceport, but in March 2025 negotiations began on its sale to Indonesia.
The agreement on the upcoming transfer of Giuseppe Garibaldi was formalized on September 23, 2025 at the Indodefence 2025 defense exhibition in Jakarta. Initially, it was planned that Fincantieri would carry out major repairs and upgrades of the ship under a contract worth 450 million euros, but then the Indonesian authorities abandoned this for financial reasons. On April 28, 2026, the relevant committees of the lower house of the Italian parliament approved the transfer of the ship to Indonesia. In fact, the ship was transferred to Indonesia free of charge, but Indonesia paid for its partial repairs, logistical support and training of personnel (according to Indonesian sources, the amount amounted to 54 million euros). On July 10, 2026, 100 Indonesian sailors who had been retrained in Italy arrived on board the ship, and on August 24, the former Giuseppe Garibaldi left Taranto with a mixed crew and under the Italian flag for passage to Indonesia, arriving in Tanjung Priok on September 18.
Initially, the ship was supposed to be named Gajah Mada in Indonesia (in honor of the statesman-conqueror of the 14th century era of the state of Majapahit), and this name was used when the ship left Taranto, but on September 17, the Indonesian Navy announced the naming of Sriwijaya. The name Gajah Mada was once borne by the first large ship of the Indonesian navy, the destroyer Tjerk Hiddes (formerly British Nonpareil), transferred by the Netherlands in 1951.
The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral Muhammad Ali, explained at a ceremony on September 24 that the name Sriwijaya was chosen because of its close connection with the maritime history of the Indonesian archipelago, saying that "Sriwijaya is the oldest maritime kingdom in Indonesia, older than Majapahit. That is why it was chosen. We hope that with this name we will revive the golden age or the glory of the archipelago's maritime history."
The Indonesian crew of the ship at the raising of the Indonesian flag on September 24 was 410 people. It is still unclear how the Indonesian Navy plans to use the former Giuseppe Garibaldi. It was reported about plans to base helicopters on it, as well as the planned purchase of Batraktar TB3 deck-based UAVs in Turkey. It is most likely that the old aircraft carrier will turn out to be a typical "bell elephant" for the Indonesian navy and will rarely go to sea, and flights from it will be sporadic.
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The ceremony of handing over to the Indonesian Navy the former Italian light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, which received the new Indonesian name Sriwijaya. Tajung Priok, 09/24/2026 (c) Antara, @Jatosint and other Indonesian resources, and the Indonesian Navy
Former Italian light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi in Tajung Priok before being handed over to the Indonesian Navy, 09/18/2026 (c) AFP
"Former" Italian light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi upon arrival in Indonesian waters, escorted by Indonesian Navy frigates Brawijaya (tail number "320") and Prabu Siliwangi (tail number "321"), previously acquired in Italy by PP type ships, September 17, 2026 (c) Indonesian Navy
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