Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), an associate of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC), physically handed over (PHO) the fourth and final unit of the first batch of the Keris-class Littoral Mission Ship (LMS4) to Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), today.
Named RENCONG after a traditional Malay weapon, the 68.8-meter-long ship with pennant number 114 was jointly built by BNS and Wuchang Shipbuilding Industrial Group (WSIG) in China.
The naming ceremony of LMS4 was held simultaneously with the PHO at the WSIG Shipyard in Qidong in Jiangsu Province, China. At hand to receive the ship was the Head of Acceptance Committee of the RMN, First Admiral Zahid Abd Aziz who is also the Defence Attaché of Malaysia in China.
The Lady Sponsor was Puan Sutinah Mohamad, the wife of the Head of RMN Project Team, Captain Abdul Hadi Tan Abdullah, in keeping with the time-honoured naval tradition of having ships named by women.
RENCONG is the second RMN ship to bear the name, with the first being a patrol craft that had been decommissioned and requisitioned to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. RENCONG will join RMN’s 11th Squadron together with LMS1 KD KERIS which was commissioned in January 2020, KD SUNDANG (commissioned in March 2021) and KD BADIK (commissioned in October 2021).
The LMS project is undertaken via tripartite cooperation among RMN, BNS and three Chinese parties, namely WSIG, China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd. (CSOC) and China Classification Society (CCS). All four units of the LMS were built at Shuangliu Manufacturer Base in Wuhan.
The LMS is a new class of RMN warships that is set to bolster Malaysia’s maritime defence as part of the Navy’s 15to5 Transformation Plan to replace current warships and create an efficient, fit-for-purpose armada.
The ships will be a significant addition to enhance RMN’s capability to conduct patrols and undertake search and rescue operations, enforce Malaysia’s maritime law to safeguard its economic and strategic interests, secure its vast maritime borders and promote naval diplomacy.
As outlined in the 15to5 programme, the RMN plans to have 18 units of LMS in its armada. All four units of the LMS comply with the Rules of Classification of Naval Ship 2016 (RCSNS 16) issued by CCS, a member of the prestigious International Association of Classification Societies. They are capable of operating in multi-mission roles and in all weather conditions in littoral waters and in the high seas.
The procurement contract to jointly build the LMS was signed on 23 March 2017 between BNS and the Government of Malaysia, with CSOC acting as a partner shipyard of BNS. The first supplemental contract was signed on 20 August 2019 stating that all four units of the LMS are to be built at WSIG Shipyard in Wuchang near Shanghai, China which has vast experience in building naval warships.
BHIC Chief Executive Officer, Sharifuddin Md. Zaini Al-Manaf said BHIC is proud of its contribution to the nation’s maritime defence through the LMS programme. “With the facilities and experienced, highly skilled personnel at BNS, we are confident of securing contracts for the subsequent batches of the LMS,” he said.
Group Managing Director of BHIC’s parent company Boustead Holdings Bhd, Dato’ Sri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said that the successful delivery of all LMS units underscores the ability of BNS and BHIC in delivering projects on time and to the satisfaction of its clients.
“All the hard work by the employees to improve and enhance the efficiencies of the Group’s heavy industry division has borne fruits and greatly motivated BHIC to attain its vision of becoming the leading maritime and defence solutions provider. This is in line with the Reinventing Boustead strategy to set the Boustead Group on a stronger footing towards becoming a high-performing organisation with sustainable growth,” he said.
