SHAH ALAM: KD Keris, the RMN first China made warship was commissioned into service today. RMN chief Admiral Reza Mohd Sany read out the commissioning declaration for Keris at Qidong, Shanghai today.
At the ceremony, Reza also put on the CO insignia for its fist commanding officer, Commander Mohd Zulkarnain Mohd Rawi. RMN said the first of class of ship designated as Littoral Mission Ship (LMS)
is expected to depart Qidong in January 8 and is expected to arrive on January 17 at the Kota Kinabalu naval base at Sepanggar.
Keris is the first RMN warship to be built in China. RMN took delivery of the ship at a ceremony at Wuchuan Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd at Wucang Port, Qidong, in Shanghai, China on January 6. The second of class LMS, Sundang, is scheduled to be delivered and commissioned in April.
Work on the other two LMS are underway at the Wuhan shipyard where Keris and Sundang were built and are expected to be launched by mid of next year. The government signed a contract with Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) for the supply of the four LMS, in 2017. BNS contracted with China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Corporation (CSOC) for the design and manufacture of the LMS. Originally two of the LMS were to be built in China with another two built at the BNS facility in Pulau Jerejak, Penang.
However a revision of the contract terms in early 2019 saw the contract price reduced and the last two LMS to be built in China.
Traditionally, RMN ships built overseas, are commissioned into service prior their homecoming so the ceremony today is a normal thing.
–Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (15)
Come back soon and lets use the KD Keris to chase away all the chinese coast guard ships in our EEZ...
congrats...hope they will invite people on board and snap some pic for us to see
Alhamdulillah
Quite a long time we didnt see such ceremony, syabas TLDM.
Congratulations to the navy.
'If' we will produce more of the keris class in our own shipyards (since i believe we already paid for tot of the design), will we have any problems integrating westerns equipments and software, politically?
Since the thai naresuan and algerian c28a are using westerns equipments.
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I think the reduction in the cost of the contract meant that BNS did not buy the IP rights to the ship. I am not sure about this though, hopefully I can clarify the issue when I go for the home coming ceremony for the ship in KK next week.
Nihd - “ will we have any problems integrating westerns equipments and software, politically”
Why would we face political issues? If the ship has a Chinese CMS the cooperation of the Chinese will be needed to share the software codes with the OEMs of whatever Western stuff we but but it’s not as if we’re integrating anything sensitive or revolutionary in terms of capabilities or something Western OEMs would not like to see on a Chinese constructed ship.
Of far more concern is the need for long term planning - hard to do when the government is indecisive with regards to funding and timing - to ensure the first batch and the follow on don’t differ too much in their fit outs. Personally I’m not even convinced yet that the first batch will ever be fully fitted out as originally intended.
PRC Navy is sending a few Coast guard ships to escort our Keris back. The ships will provide escort all the way to KK naval base, where the Keris will be homeported. The escort ships will then lepak2 at Luconia shoals ;)
@...
A 780ton LMS is going to successfully chase away a 12,000ton China coastguard behemoth? You gotta be kidding, right?
First in class have been commissioned and we still don't have a single clue what modular containerised module system it is using and what modules are available and whether we will be buying them in sufficient number.
Lets get the hulls first as many as we can get..Module can come in later..IMHO the module for Hydrographic and MCM should come first to replace KD Perantau and MAHAMIRU..Then we can go to more offensive module like Patria Nemo Mortar, SAM or if possible SSM too..
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I don't think Western made modules will be allowed on the LMS
Actually if we could convert a LNG tanker to a helicopter/auxiliary vessel no 12000 ton ship can stop it. Add 120mm cannons for naval/shore bombardment and there's a complete package. OTOH are the Chinese still sending bombers to buzz the drillships in our EEZ?