KD Mahawangsa completes resuppy mission for MalBatt in Lebanon

A file picture of KD Mahawangsa at sea. - Photo: ART CHEN / The Star

IPOH: Royal Malaysian Navy vessel KD Mahawangsa has completed a mission to resupply Malaysian Battalion (MalBatt) 850 in Lebanon.

The Western Fleet Command Headquarters’ Strategic Communication Division said the first mission was completed when the ship arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan 2 after spending 34 days at sea.

KD Mahawangsa completed its second mission when it participated in the International Fleet Review in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh which brought together navies from 28 countries from Dec 6 to 9 last year.

"The first-ever task carried out by the Navy’s logistics vessel is in line with the third core of the Navy Command, which is to improve integration and support from the aspect of togetherness.

"In addition to the MalBatt-850 resupply mission, the vessel also carried out a mission aimed at enhancing national defence diplomacy throughout the voyage," the statement read.

KD Mahawangsa also had the opportunity to strengthen defence diplomacy with the Indian Navy during its return journey through an operational visit in Kochin from Jan 28 to 31 and conducted a passing exercise (Passex) with the Indian Navy’s INS Savitri on Feb 5, it added.

"This MalBatt-850 resupply mission was of medium scale and was carried out based on the capacity and capabilities of KD Mahawangsa.

"It had been successfully implemented which proved the Navy’s commitment, but we cannot rely on existing assets to carry out large-scale resupply missions,” it said, adding that Navy’s logistics capability could be enhanced with the Multi-Role Support Ship that will allow large-scale missions to be executed faster. - Bernama