Navy's first new-class large patrol vessel to be based in KK handed over in China
Published on: Tuesday, December 31, 2019
By: Zam Yusa
Malaysia's first littoral mission ship handover ceremony in China (Photo: Royal Malaysian Navy).
Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian navy's first new-class large patrol vessel that will be stationed at its Sepanggar base near here was officially handed over by the builder during a ceremony in China on Tuesday.
The littoral mission ship (LMS) named Keris, whose building started on July 31, 2018 in Wuhan, China, was handed over at Wucang Port, Qidong.
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A four-man Malaysian delegation headed by the Ministry of Defence’s (Mindef) Acquisition Division Secretary, Dato’ Ahmad Husaini Abdul Rahman, carried out the ship’s documentation-cum-physical inspection and also took part in a demonstration voyage, a Mindef statement said.
The handover was witnessed by Vice Adm Dato’ Pahlawan Syed Zahrul Putra Syed Abdullah, chief of the navy’s Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters based at Sepanggar, and Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd CEO Ee Teck Chee.
Keris has been scheduled to be commissioned in Wuhan on Jan 6, 2020 with navy chief Adm Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany expected to grace the ceremony.
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The LMS is one of five vessel classes in the navy’s transformation programme named “15 to 5”, where its current 15 ship classes will be reduced to five to improve efficiency.
