Although the wake of the tsunami that hit the northern coast of Banda Aceh in December 2004 has passed more than 1 decade, but the evidence of such extraordinary events can still be witnessed on the ship Apung PLTD is now a historical tourist attraction.
Diesel Power Station or commonly called PLTD Apung, initially leaned on the Port of Ulee Lheue, Banda Aceh City. However, after the tsunami hit the ship owned by the State Electricity Company (PLN) was dragged as far as five kilometers and stranded amid settlements in the village Punge Blang Cut Village, District Meuraksa, Banda Aceh.
The ship weighs 2,600 tons, length 63 meters, and 19 meters wide is capable of distributing electricity by 10 mega watts. Before coming to Aceh, this ship had served in Pontianak (1997), Bali (1999), and returned to Pontianak (2001). The presence of this PLTD vessel in Aceh at the request of Abdullah Puteh, Governor of Aceh at that time, to overcome the electricity crisis that occurred in 2003.
A year over duty in Aceh, the voyage of the ship had to stop on December 26, 2004. When docked at Ulee Lheue Port to refuel, when the unexpected sudden tsunami struck Aceh, not to mention the floating PLTD vessel.
Of the 11 crew members and some residents who were on board when the tsunami occurred, only one person survived. The phenomenon of this ship shift shows the awesomeness of wave power that hit the Veranda of Mecca at that time.
Currently, the area around the PLTD Apung has been purchased by the government to be reorganized into educational tourism rides. To commemorate the casualties that fell due to the tsunami, built a memorial monument. On the monument, the date and time of the incident from the disaster that also happened to some countries other than Indonesia.
Around the monument, built walls with reliefs resembling a flood wave. From this boat, visitors can also see the Bukit Barisan mountain range.
Every day many tourists come to see the ship, especially during the holidays. Not only the surrounding community, but also from out of town, even abroad. "Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, on July 19, 2014 and never took a visit when he saw the development of Aceh post-tsunami 10 years.
If you want to visit the place of this attraction, the visitors are not charged entrance fee. enough to pay parking two thousand dollars and donations seikhlasnya only.
PLTD Apung is only a distance of about 7 minutes from downtown Banda Aceh or can be reached by walking for 20 minutes. Curious about the evidence of the magnitude of the natural disaster that once hit Aceh?