SHAH ALAM: The delay in nationalisation of Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) is also causing a delay in resumption of work for the first LCS – PCU Maharaja Lela. Confirming this today in a press conference in Parliament, Defence Minister DSU Mohamad Hasan said work on the first ship will only start once the Finance Ministry takes over the shipyard.
He said the delay will be for several months.
“It should be (completed in) May 2026, but it is now delayed to September or October of the same year, with a delay in the agreement,” he said in a press conference today. For the schedule of the LCS project after the sixth supplemental contract signed in May, see the graphic below from the PAC report.
He said that the construction will be done one ship at a time and the final one will be completed in the year 2029.
Once the first ship is completed, he said that it has to be taken from the dry dock to the harbour for four to five months of testing.
After that the ship will undergo the sea test. Once it’s passed the tests and the Royal Malaysian Navy is satisfied with the output, only then will it be delivered, he added.
Commentary:
The delay in resuming work is inevitable as it is likely that they wanted the work be conducted by BNS only after it is nationalised. This will prevent Boustead and LTAT be encumbered by any legal ramifications.
It appears that they also finally realised the folly of building the ships concurrently, presented previously as the best way to build the LCS in quick succession. This has been done before by other ship builders, but they only did it after the first ship has been fully tested and commissioned.
This is necessary as new builds – ships and planes, mostly – are always riddled with problems and challenges. Even Naval Group – the designer of the Gowind corvette – had not done it before. For a first-time builder – BNS – the decision to build all six ships concurrently was clearly an unwise and pricey decision.
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (23)
Weirdly, final design can be completed by August 2024, but the downslip is set for May 2024 with Harbour Acceptance Test in November 2024. More worryingly, it seems the BNS design team is maybe not making any sense or confused. They say they have completed 96% of the design while Naval Group has reviewed 84%. The August 2024 due date for the final design seems to be for BNS's work, not Naval Group. So BNS needs 14 months to complete 4% (report page 15 and 16)? Does that mean LCS1 will be completed without Naval Group verifying the final design? Another equally baffling decisions is, with BNS being nationalised, why would they rely on Liquidated and Ascertained Damages (LAD) to manage the project risks (page 63)? Lastly, nothing personal, disappointed that no one changed the program manager.
No, they will need Naval Group to verify the design. On the LAD, they said no further need for LAD as the project is nationalised. Why must they pay the government damages when the company itself is the government. Probably that is the reason the AGC did not sign off the agreement.
I don’t know who is the moron that decided to build all 6 ships at one go but i believe by doing that they can claim money very easy as the payment is not progressive. So iisuspect it was a scam well planned & executed from day 1.Bypassing all the overseers & take that 6 billions. Only ppl with ministerial power can do this
I’d like to know who actually decided to have all the ships constructed locally without BNS going through a learning curve; as was was done with the Kedahs. BNS had not constructed anything for years and most of the people who has experience working on the Kedahs were no longer there.
I don’t know who made the decision but I know why : national interests and hubris.
AFAIK, it was proposed by the top people in BHIC and BNS at that time and the then PM accepted their proposal.
Non compos mentis - to our esteemed MPs plus their corporate lackeys.
This completion it full complete or struktut onli? And not sistem likwle cms?
Full lah why build a warship without CMS?
OOT...is that Mildef armored car really bought by our armed forces? Is that Mildef Tarantula's contract really signed by government just stated by Janes recently? I just noticed that Mildef opened their new office here in Kuantan, just adjacent to Kem Batu 10 (home of 4th Mechanized Brigade).
AFAIK, no. Mildef is conducting maintenance for the Adnans so it is logical to have an office there.
Taib - “ to our esteemed MPs plus their corporate lackeys”
Things don’t happen in a vacuum. Whatever any MPs and their lackeys did was enabled by the very system we have in place; one which we’ve had for quite a while now. The LCS lack of oversight; priority being with the local industry rather then the end user and taxpayer and procurement being part of the patronage system. The signs where there but there were no corrective mechanisms in place and MINDEF shares the blame too.
Every military procurement in this world (not just us) is never about getting the best equipment for the best price. It's always a balancing act to maximise the cost to achieve maximum socio, economics, & politics benefits both internally & externally.
The LCS fiasco is not about we lack industrial capabilities but rather more towards managerial capabilities. But the biggest reason for the delay was politics both internally as we transition towards a multi party democracy as well as externally as PRC & US of A changed their tunes.
To say we lack corrective mechanism is just isn't true. The LCS delayed was because we correctly corrected the ship effectors & system due to the change in geopolitics. It if what people think correcting mechanism is buying things directly overseas to buy the best literal bang for the bucks. Then that's just delusional thinking as no country on earth does that.
By 2030 those specifications will be outdated .. even the missiles bought will be near expiry date. Basically we are paying for junks ...
@ mofaz
What junks??
NSM is the latest, basically the 5th GEN of anti-ship missiles. Way more advanced than 1970s based design such as Exocet.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwywqbpaAAMuZcM.jpg
VL MICA NG, similar size to normal MICA, but with the range of ESSM. This will only enter production in 2026. Can this be considered junk?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EznZve8WQAESCB5.jpg
CAPTAS 2 combined passive and active towed array sonar. How many other frigates in our neighbourhood that even has one?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDskQfqXYAU-9wS.jpg