LCS launched by BNS

another milestone achieves by BHIC with successfully launched LCS Gowind class on 24 August 2017 in Lumut Perak.

LUMUT: The government would not compromise on Malaysia’s security, despite the economic slowdown said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

He said this can be seen from the unveiling of the first second generation Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) here.

Hishammuddin said five more LCS’ in currently in the pipeline will be delivered to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) by 2023.

"With the LCS vessels, I hope the RMN's ability to protect the country's sovereignty will be greatly boosted, especially when it comes to facing the Islamic State threats.

He adds that apart from the home built LCS, the nation’s security is expected to be further boosted by the arrival of Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) from China.

"RMN is expected to receive four Littoral Mission Ships in stages, with two of these vessels currently being built in China, while the remaining will be built in the country," said Hishammuddin

He adds that as of July 8, the RMN had dispatched a team of 11 officers from the navy, together with nine personnel from the BNS to Wuhan, China.

He adds that the navy and BNS personnel will spend 37 months to monitor the ship-building process at Wuchang Shipyard.

“I also learnt that they are currently on Basic Design Review stage. This is to ensure that the ships' specifications followed our needs and requests.

"Based on the progress, I believe, we will be receiving the first LMS vessel by October 2019," he said.

Hishammuddin said this at a press conference after the naming and launch of Malaysia’s first LCS at the Boustead Naval Ship yard at the RMN base here today.

Malaysia’s first home built LCS has been named KD Maharaja Lela, in honour of the late Perak Chieftain and British resistance leader, Datuk Maharaja Lela.

The first of its kind ship under the Maharaja Lela Class was constructed at the Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BN Shipyard), a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Berhad and an associate company of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC).

The LCS took one and half years to complete at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base here, after it’s keel was laid down in March of last year.

Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim launched the LCS, witnessed by Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.

Meanwhile, BHIC Executive Deputy chairman and managing director Datuk Seri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor described the completion of the first LCS on schedule as being a momentous occasion as it was launched less than one and a half year since its keel-laying ceremony held last year.

"The achievement is a testament to the dedication, commitment and hard work of the staff of BHIC and BN Shipyard and the navy, proving that Malaysians can undertake a project of such complexity and magnitude.

"The LCS entering the water for the first time is a highly significant moment in shipbuilding. We have gone through a long, complex and challenging journey to reach this point," he added.

Ramli said BNS was privileged with the opportunity given by the government to build the LCS and contribute towards enhancing the country's maritime defence.

“As we build the rest of the vessels, we will continue to maintain our pace, while upholding our commitment to provide outstanding service in pursuit of our shared goal to see Malaysia achieve self-resilience in maritime defence," he added.

Also present was Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

With a contract value of RM9 billion, each of the LCS is equipped with warfare capabilities for electronic, air, surface and underwater threats, integrated with state-of-the-art systems.

The ships are based on an enlarged version of the Gowind-class corvette, designed by DCNS of France.

A distinctive feature of the LCS is its stealth capability.

Tuanku Zara Launches RMN's First Littoral Combat Ship

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LUMUT, Aug 24 -- The newly built KD Maharaja Lela, the first of six littoral combat ships (LCS) of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), was launched by Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim at the RMN base, here, today.

The naming of the ship and launching ceremony was also graced by the presence of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah.

The royal couple and invited dignitaries present including Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC) managing director Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor then watched KD Maharaja Lela sail out to sea for the first time.

The building of the six LCS is by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BN Shipyard), a subsidiary company of (BHIC) at a cost of RM9 billion.

The LCS has a four-dimensional combat capacity with the durability to overcome electronic, water and air threats, besides having the latest combat management system.

The ship, 111 metres long, has a maximum speed of 28 knots and is equipped with torpedo launchers, anti-surface and anti-air missile launching systems and medium-calibre cannons, among other devices, to boost security control over the country’s waters.

Hishammuddin said the name Maharaja Lela for the combat ship took after the name of renowned Malay warrior Dato' Maharaja Lela (a territorial chieftain and penghulu in Pasir Salak) who led the Malays in the fight against British colonial rule in Perak (in the 1870’s).

He said the building of this first LCS for the RMN showed the capability and competitiveness of local manpower in the heavy industry sector, specifically military technology.

"This is because it is the first LCS of frigate class fully built by a local company, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd,” he added.

Ahmad Ramli, meanwhile, said this was the biggest combat ship in the RMN fleet with its stealth shape and difficult to detect by radar.

He said the ship would be officially handed over to RMN in April 2019 after undergoing tests at the dockyard and sea, as well as firing tests.

-- BERNAMA

Published on Thursday, 24 August 2017 16:41

Dry Launch for LCS

Marhalim Abas August 23, 2017 

LUMUT: Dry launch for LCS. RMN’s first of class LCS 1 is all set for her launch and naming ceremony, tomorrow (Aug 24, 2017). The ship will be launched and named by Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim at the Boustead Naval Shipyard, here.

The ceremony is not expected to be like the US Navy Freedom class LCS which will be launched sideways into the waterways adjacent to the shipyard. The two RMN training ships, Gagah and Teguh Samudera were named and launched stern first in 2012 and 2013, respectively but both have yet to be commissioned into service.

Maharaja Lela sitting on a platform, was lowered just shy off the waters of the dockyard. She got wet somewhat courtesy of some fire hoses.

The ship will now be moved back across the shipyard for more work on her to be completed. Her harbour trials are expected later this year.

As noted by Api69, I did not see the propellers under the stern. However this does not mean she is being rushed for launching.

I believed the ceremony tomorrow is being held as the RMN cannot expect not to have pictures of the ship being widely circulated as the location of the shipyard straddled a regular and popular ferry transit point.

Come to think of it, Naval Group – the new name for DCNS – never published pictures of the Egyptian Gowind being put into water or any other ships that the shipyard build.

This is an updated version of the original post.

-Malaysian Defence

US Navy destroyer collision: Malaysia assisting in search for 10 sailors

Monday, 21 August 2017 | MYT 11:29 AM

US Navy destroyer collision: Malaysia assisting in search for 10 sailors

BY RAHMAH GHAZALI

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PETALING JAYA: The Royal Malaysia Navy has despatched ships and a helicopter to help in search-and-rescue (SAR) operations after a US warship and a merchant vessel collided seven nautical miles off the coast of Johor.

Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said SAR operations are currently under way for 10 missing sailors.

The Navy has deployed three ships – the KD Handalan, KD Gempita, and KD Lekiu – as well as a CB 90 assault craft and SuperLynx helicopter, he told The Star

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has also deployed three vessels to assist in operations, and the Royal Malaysian Air Force is also deploying aircraft,” he added.

Kamarulzaman also urged the maritime community in Johor and Pahang, especially fishermen, to help look for the 10 missing US Navy sailors.

The USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, collided with the Alnic MC at 5.24am on Monday east of Singapore, the US 7th Fleet reported.

The accident occurred when the US Navy ship was making its way to Singapore for a routine visit. Its home port is Yokosuka in Japan.

Singapore authorities are working with the US Navy to conduct search and rescue efforts after the warship suffered damage, said the 7th Fleet.

Apart from the 10 missing sailors, five personnel were injured.

The accident comes two months after seven US sailors died when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged cargo ship off the Japanese coast.

BY RAHMAH GHAZALI

U.S. Navy says divers searching warship's flooded compartments for missing sailors

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Tuesday divers have begun searching in the flooded compartments of a U.S. warship for 10 U.S. sailors missing since the guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant vessel in waters near Singapore and Malaysia.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship, the U.S. Seventh Fleet said in a statement posted on its website.

"Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas," it said.

The USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC collided early on Monday while the U.S. vessel was nearing Singapore for a routine port call. The collision tore a hole in the warship's port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area.

  

US Launches probe after second deadly Navy collision

AFP

 | August 22, 2017

SINGAPORE: The US Navy announced a fleet-wide global investigation on Monday after the latest in a series of accidents left another 10 sailors missing and five more injured.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson ordered crews to prepare pauses in their operations to allow a “comprehensive review” of practices after the destroyer USS John McCain collided with a merchant tanker off Singapore.

“As you know, this is the second collision in three months and the last of a series of incidents in the Pacific theater,” Richardson said.

“This trend demands more forceful action. As such, I have directed an operational pause be taken in all of our fleets around the world.”

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, on a visit to Jordan, said Richardson’s “broader enquiry will look at all related accidents, incidents at sea, that sort of thing. He is going to look at all factors, not just the immediate one.”

Ten US sailors were still missing after Monday’s collision between the McCain and the Alnic MC in the busy shipping lanes of the Singapore Strait, near the Strait of Malacca, which left a large hole in the USS John McCain’s hull.

It was the second accident involving an American warship since mid-June. A major search involving ships and aircraft from Singapore, Malaysia and the US was launched for the missing sailors.

The badly damaged destroyer limped into port in the southeast Asian city-state of Singapore under escort after the dramatic pre-dawn accident, which sent water flooding into the vessel.

Full transparency

Analysts said the accident, which came after June’s collision off Japan involving a US warship, raised questions about whether the US Navy was overstretched in Asia as it seeks to combat Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

The US Navy said there was “significant damage to the hull” of the John McCain, which led to flooding of crew sleeping areas, machinery and communications rooms.

“Damage control efforts by the crew halted further flooding,” they said in a statement.

A helicopter took four of the injured to a Singapore hospital for treatment, while the fifth did not need further medical attention, the navy said.

The 505-foot (154-meter) vessel could still sail under its own power after the collision with the Liberian-flagged tanker, which was slightly bigger at 600 feet. Two other vessels escorted it into port.

The warship had been heading for a routine stop in Singapore after carrying out a “freedom of navigation operation” in the disputed South China Sea earlier in August around a reef in the Spratly Islands, sparking a furious response from Beijing.

The damaged vessel is named after US Senator John McCain’s father and grandfather, who were both admirals in the US navy.

McCain himself, who as a naval pilot was shot down during the Vietnam War and held prisoner, welcomed the review.

“I agree with Admiral Richardson that more forceful action is urgently needed to identify and correct the causes of the recent ship collisions,” he said.

“I expect full transparency and accountability from the Navy leaders as they conduct the associated investigations and reviews.”

Are they doing too much?

President Donald Trump tweeted: “Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnMcCain where search & rescue efforts are underway.”

Ridzwan Rahmat, a naval expert at Jane’s by IHS Markit, said initial indications suggested the US warship may not have been obeying rules designed to separate maritime traffic passing through the Singapore Strait.

With the accident coming soon after the freedom of navigation operation, he told AFP that it raised questions “whether there is crew fatigue setting in, whether or not the tempo of operations by the US Navy in this region is getting too fast.”

“Are they doing too much within this region with North Korea, and Japan and then now in the South China Sea?”

The tanker involved in the collision, which was used for transporting oil and chemicals and weighed over 30,000 gross tonnes, sustained some damage but no crew were injured, and Singapore said there was no oil pollution.

In June, seven American sailors died when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged cargo ship in a busy channel not far from Yokosuka, a gateway to container ports in Tokyo and nearby Yokohama.

The dead sailors, aged 19 to 37, were found by divers in flooded sleeping berths a day after the collision tore a huge gash in the ship’s side.

A senior admiral announced last week that the commander of the destroyer and several other officers had been relieved of their duties aboard their ship over the incident.

Both the USS John McCain and USS Fitzgerald are part of the US Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka.

Alnic MC

#AlnicMC
* Grosse Tons: 30040 * Year Built: 2008 * Deadweight: 50760 tons

* length - 183m x 32.2 m




USS John M Cain

destroyer
Displacement:	Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t) Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length:	505 ft (154 m)

The new Boss of Malaysia Coast Guard

Handing over ceremony from DG MMEA Dato Seri Ahmad Puzi To Dato Paduka Zulkifili

USS John S. McCain collides with merchant ship east of Singapore

10 Sailors Missing After U.S. Navy Destroyer, Merchant Ship Collide

Incident is second destroyer accident in about two months

By 

Gordon Lubold and  

Nancy A. Youssef in Washington and

Jake Maxwell Watts in Singapore

Updated Aug. 21, 2017 3:37 a.m. ET

Ten American sailors were missing and five were injured after the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel near the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, U.S. Navy officials said, making it the second destroyer accident in just over two months.

Search-and-rescue efforts are under way. In a statement, the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said four of the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in Singapore to treat non-life-threatening injuries. The fifth injured sailor doesn’t require additional medical attention. No fuel or oil is visible on the water’s surface near the McCain, it said, adding that initial reports show the ship sustained damage to its port side aft.

The Alnic, a nine-year-old oil-and-chemical tanker, was also on its way to Singapore, scheduled to arrive at about 11 a.m. local time, according to VesselsValue, a maritime information provider. It departed a port on China’s northeast coastline on July 10 before traveling around the coast of South Korea. It then waited a few days for orders around Taiwan, then steamed southwest to Singapore.

Its last reported location was east of Singapore and Malaysia where ships enter and exit the busy straits. VesselsValue records indicate the oil tanker, a 600-foot tanker with a gross tonnage of 30,000, wasn’t holding cargo at the time of the collision.

VesselsValue data shows the Alnic is owned by Greece’s Brave Maritime Corp., which is owned by Greek shipping magnate Harry Vafias. Brave Maritime wasn’t immediately able to be contacted for comment.

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement that both ships were on their way to Singapore to assess damage, adding that search-and rescue operations were ongoing. It said the U.S. Navy vessel requested tug assistance to move it to port after sustaining damage to its left side. The authority said one of the Alnic’s tanks was damaged above the waterline; it reported no injuries.

Ship collisions are extremely rare, even in congested waters like those around Singapore’s coast. But the accident comes days after the Navy released an initial report on the June 17 collision of the USS Fitzgerald, which hit a merchant ship, the ACX Crystal. Seven American sailors died in that accident, and the Fitzgerald’s captain, the executive officer and the senior enlisted sailor were relieved of command.

The McCain had just conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation in the South China Sea, navigating to within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, one of a chain of disputed islands.

Bryan McGrath, a former Navy destroyer captain, said: “Shocking is not the right word, it’s almost unbelievable,” reacting to news of the McCain accident.

Mr. McGrath said he didn’t have enough information to assess what might have happened.

“It raises questions about the readiness of those ships and whether or not they are navigating prudently in very crowded waters,” he said. “We’ve gone years since a collision [and] to have two, one after the other, is either a coincidence, which I’m willing to believe, or it’s a sign of something deeper, which I’m also willing to believe.”

Singaporean tug boats, patrol ships, helicopters and a police coast guard vessel were in the area to offer assistance to the McCain and the Alnic, according to the Seventh Fleet. In addition, American MV-22 Ospreys and SH-60 helicopters from the USS America were also responding.

In a post on Twitter, the chief of Malaysia’s navy said Malaysian search-and-rescue teams had also responded.

The U.S. Navy maintains a close relationship with Singapore, an island nation of 5.6 million people placed strategically at the narrow Strait of Malacca, a narrow stretch of water between Malaysia and Indonesia is a major shipping gateway to Asia for vessels from the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.

Singapore agreed to allow the U.S. use of its military facilities as long ago as 1990, in an agreement that the two sides extended most recently in 2015. U.S. Navy vessels regularly stop in Singapore for maintenance and refueling, including ships that go on to conduct patrols that challenge Chinese and other maritime claims in the South China Sea.

“The waters near Singapore in the Straits of Malacca are a choke point in the most important shipping lanes in the world,” said David Adelman, the U.S. ambassador to Singapore from 2010 to 2013. “As tensions in the South China Sea have increased, the U.S. Navy’s role in the region has become more important than any time since the conclusion of the war in Vietnam.”

BHIC’s unit forms JV company with Swiss firm

Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd’s (BHIC) fully owned unit BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (BHICDT) has signed an agreement with Switzerland based RD Investment AG (RDI) to form a joint-venture (JV) company in Malaysia.

The agreement is part of a plan to restructure and rebrand their businesses into one entity named Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd (CAD).

CAD will implement the contracts awarded to BHICDT and RDI, under the Royal Malaysian Navy Littoral Combat Ships Programme for combat system-related infrastructure and services.

BHICDT and RDI agree that the initial issued and paid-up capital of CAD will be RM1 million only, represented by one million ordinary shares of which 510,000 will be allotted to BHICDT and 490,000 shares will be allotted to RDI.

Malaysia Reserve

Thursday, August 17th, 2017 at , News

Boustead in new JV with defence firm Rheinmetall AG

BY M. HAFIDZ MAHPAR

Boustead's concept model of a second generation patrol vessel.

KUALA LUMPUR: Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC) and German defence firm Rheinmetall AG plan to set up a new joint venture (JV) engaged in project management, contract administration and related services for the Malaysian defence industry.

BHIC told Bursa Malaysia that its wholly owned sub-subsidiary BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (BHICDT) would hold a 60% stake in the JV company while Rheinmetall Air Defence AG’s unit RD Investment AG (RDI) will own the rest.

BHIC’s previous JV with Rheinmetall Air Defence - Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd (CAD) - is an electronic systems manufacturing and service company.

In April 2013, CAD was awarded 10-year, RM514.99mil contracts to supply towed array sonar and surveillance radar for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s six second generation patrol vessels or littoral combat ships (LCS).

In September that year, Rheinmetall Air Defence transferred all of its 49% equity in CAD to its wholly owned subsidiary, RDI.

Under a share and business restructuring agreement, BHIC and Rheinmetall agreed that BHICDT would have management and leadership for the LCS combat system equipment procurement and integration business (with the exemption of certain specific business affairs). The parties agreed to form a new JV company for this.

RDI, via CAD, will retain the management and leadership of the electronic and additive manufacturing, integration and training services business for defence, industrial and aerospace markets.

CAD will continue to implement the contracts awarded to them under the Royal Malaysian Navy LCS programme, namely providing the fire control system and combat management system.

The new JV company, meanwhile, will handle the LCS programme’s transfer of technology obligations to be fulfilled by DCNS SA, France, which is the design authority for the LCS as well as the combat management system.

The business of the JV company would be conducted in its best interests in accordance with good and sound commercial profit-making principles, BHIC said.

“The board believes that the investment will strengthen BHIC Group’s existing relationship with RDI, which may open up other future potential business collaborations, on a win-win basis for both companies particularly in the Malaysian defence industry,” BHIC said.

BHIC ties up with RD Investment to incorporate new JV company

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC), via its sub-subsidiary, BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (BHICDT) today signed a joint venture agreement with Swiss-based RD Investment AG (RDI) to form a joint venture company(JVCo) in Malaysia.

According to a Bursa Malaysia filing today, RDI, a subsidiary of Rheinmetall Air Defence AG (RAD), will be responsible for the management of the electronics and additive manufacturing, integration and training services business for defence, industrial and aerospace markets.

BHICDT will be responsible for the management of the Littoral Combat Ship combat system equipment procurement and integration business of the newly formed company.

In 2010, BHICDT had entered a JV agreement with RAD for the purpose of regulating its JV company then known as Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd (CAD).

By an agreement dated Nov 5 2012 between RAD and RDI, RAD had agreed to transfer all of its 49% equity in CAD to its wholly-owned subsidiary, RDI.

The change of shareholding for CAD from RAD to RDI was effected on Sept 23 2013.

The parties had on July 10 2017 signed a Share and Business Restructuring Agreement (SBRA) to restructure and rebrand their business activities. Pursuant to the SBRA, the parties agreed that RDI shall have within CAD the management and leadership of the electronics and additive manufacturing, integration and training services business for defence, industrial and aerospace markets.

Additionaly, BHICDT shall have management and leadership of the Littoral Combat Ship combat system equipment procurement and integration business (with the exemption of certain specific business affairs as set out in the SBRA) for which the parties had agreed to jointly incorporate a new JVCo.

CAD will continue to implement the contracts awarded to them under the Royal Malaysian Navy Littoral Combat Ships Programme for the provision of the Rheinmetall Fire Control System and provision of the Combat Management System together with combat system-related infrastructure and services.

The new JVco will have a paid-up capital of RM1 million, in which after 60 days of incorporation, BHICDT will hold 60% of the shares and RDI, 40%.

The main business activity for CAD will surround the defence industry in Malaysia, such as the remaining Littoral Combat Ship, Combat System Equipment and Combat Management System procurement, Combat System Engineering and Combat System Integration activities.

Besides that, CAD will also be the recipient of the Littoral Combat Ship Programme Transfer of Technology with French naval design company, DCNS SA.

BHIC expects that the JVco will contribute positively to the earnings of the group by the end of this year.

"The Board believes that the investment will strengthen BHIC Group existing relationship with RDI, which may open up other potential business collaborations, on a win-win basis for both companies particularly in the Malaysian defence industry," it added.

Emir Zainul

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theedgemarkets.com

August 16, 2017 19:32 pm MYT