Navy ships bought from China to be built via joint venture

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction of the four Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) bought from China will be a joint venture between Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd and China Shipbuilding and Offshore Interna­tional Co Ltd.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the construction would be monitored by his ministry and China’s State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.

The ships, a fast and agile type designed for various operations close to shore, were procured in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s official visit to China.

Najib announced the purchase on Tuesday.

“This landmark decision is the first time Malaysia is procuring a defence asset from China,” Bernama quoted Hishammuddin as saying on Facebook yesterday.

He said the first LMS would be completed within 24 months of signing the contract.

The allocation for the purchase is off-Budget, meaning that funding will come from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) through savings achieved by its 15-5 Armada Trans­formation Programme, he said.

Hishammuddin, who is among the Malaysian delegates on the visit, said two LMS would be built in China while the others would be constructed in Malaysia.

Under the transformation programme, the RMN will only have five classes of ships – reduced from 15 – to maintain and manage as a way of saving costs (see graphic).

Hishammuddin said the RMN would decommission old vessels, which are costly to operate and maintain, and channel the savings towards acquiring new ships with the latest equipment.

“Through this transformation, the armada will be revamped without compromising on national defence capabilities,” he added.

RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Baharuddin said the navy would be more efficient economically and strategically.

He said the 15 classes of vessels (with six ships per class) currently operated by the RMN were built by seven countries.

“The average age of our ships is more than 30 years and we incur very high operational costs.

“At the same time, operational demands and maritime security challenges are increasing, especially in eastern Sabah,” he said yesterday.

He said the majority of threats were piracy, cross-border incursions and militant activities.  

“The current fleet is not cost-effective and that is why the LMS is a high-priority project,” Ahmad Kamarulzaman said, adding that the RMN was grateful to the Government for endorsing its 15-5 programme.