Mohd Reza (seated centre) and distinguished guests with KB Badik crew at the commissioning ceremony at Sepanggar Naval Base on Friday.
KOTA KINABALU (Oct 22): The Royal Malaysia Navy (RMN) is expected to receive three additional assets by next year.
Chief of Navy Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany said the three assets, namely the fourth Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) named KD Rencong and two Maritime Operations Helicopter (MOH) AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters, are expected to arrive by 2022.
All the three assets will be placed at the Eastern Fleet Command at the Sepanggar Naval Base, he said.
“We are waiting for the procurement process for the fourth LMS, which we have named KD Rencong, and we expect to receive it by end of this year.
“We will also receive two AW139 helicopters by next year and all these assets will be stationed at the Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters,” he said during the commissioning of the third LMS ship, KD Badik, at the Sepanggar Naval Base on Friday.
Mohd Reza said all LMS ships, namely KD Keris, KD Sundang, KD Badik and KD Rencong, were chosen to be stationed at the Eastern Fleet Command to strengthen and increase the security level of the country.
Mohd Reza added that the LMS ships are capable of carrying out certain missions on the coast as well as in the open sea.
“The compact and versatility of LMS ships will enable them to perform numerous tasks such as patrol duties, maritime surveillance, search and rescue as well as enforcing Malaysian maritime law,” he said.
KD Badik, the third Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) ship, arrived at the Sepanggar Naval Base on September 25 after sailing some 1,836 nautical miles from Wuhan, China.
Work on the third LMS began on September 19, 2019 at Wuchuan Shuangliu Manufacture Base in Wuhan before it was launched on October 28, 2020. KD Badik was then handed to the Malaysian government on September 14, 2021 after successfully undergoing harbour and sea trials.
KD Badik will be commanded by Commander Mohd Sharedzwan Saharudin.
Present at the ceremony were Boustead Heavy Industry Corporation (BHIC) Chief Executive Officer Sharifuddin Md Zaini Al-Manaf, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNSSB) Chief Operating Officer Low Kok Chiang and Consul General of the People’s Republic of China to Kota Kinabalu, Liang Cai-de.