Malaysian Navy finds deficiencies in ships supplied by China

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has found deficiencies in its Littoral Mission Ships supplied by China, which compromises mission objectives and forces the navy to look for new suppliers, according to a media report.

It is now the turn of the Royal Malaysian Navy to rue its decision to buy ships from China.

Many of these Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) supplied to the navy by China are showing early signs of wear and tear, compromising mission objectives. The Chinese, as in the past, are resisting attempts to take the blame for the deficiencies, forcing the Malaysian Navy to look for new suppliers, reported The Singapore Post.

RMN bought four Keris-class littoral mission ships from China, the last one was commissioned as KD Rencong, on January 28 this year at the RMN's naval base in Kota Kinabalu. These four ships formed part of a contract signed between the Malaysian government and the trading subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in April 2017. The total cost of the contract was RM1.17 billion (approx. USD 265 million), said the Singapore-based publication.

The 68.8-meter vessels are part of the RMN's critical transformation plan that aims to reduce the number of ship classes from 15 to 5. The RMN had compiled a list of deficiencies that were observed in the operation of the first Keris class ship, International defence journal, Janes had reported.

The major issues in the ship revolve around its Chinese supplied sensors and combat systems and the list formed part of discussions the Navy has been having various Chinese contractors. The Naval shipyard has recently written to M/S China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (CSOC) on the issue listing the various defects and demanding their early resolution.

According to The Singapore Post, the ships' defects range from leakages, paint, sensors and other defective parts. The negotiations with the Chinese suppliers seem to have run aground considering the navy's latest replacement of Chinese-supplied radios on its three Keris-class ships with those from German electronics manufacturer, Rohde & Schwarz. Information published on the Malaysian Finance Ministry's procurement website indicates that the contracts are worth USD 115000 each.

(ANI)