Samudera Indonesia Group is planning to invest US$50m or half of its 2007 investment budget to purchase two new containerships.

The company aims to handle 173,000 teu this year, more than double its 2006 volume of around 60,000 teu, of which 46,000 teu was domestic cargo.

Financial Director Hamdi Adenan said, "To reach the target, we will procure two containerships of 1,500 teu."

Samudra Indonesia launched its new 241 teu Sinar Bintang, built by Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder Surabaya, on the Indonesia inter-island trade last week.

The company currently operates 11 boxships on domestic trade and 28 vessels on inter-Asia trade.