MMEA Takes Delivery of OPV1

A group picture with OPV1 prior to the official delivery ceremony. APMM.

SHAH ALAM: The MMEA has taken delivery of its locally built ship, OPV1 last night. Home Ministry Secretary-general Datuk Ruji Ubi officiated the ceremony at the TH Heavy Engineering (THHE) Fabricators jetty at Pulau Indah, Port Klang on December 2.

The delivery of OPV1/KM Tun Fatimah was 16 months late as the THHE Destini Sdn Bhd was contractually bound to deliver the ship by August of 2022. The government awarded THHE, the RM738.9 million contract to build three OPV in January 2017. The contract was awarded to THHE-Destini at that time. Destini sold off its joint venture stake in 2021 though the company name remained as THHE Destini.

Home Ministry Secretary General Ruji Ubi receiving the handover documents. Note the name of the company, THHE Destini Sdn Bhd. APMM.

THHE was taken over by Urus Harta Jemaah Sdn Bhd, an investment holding and asset management company wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated). This was done by PH government after the May 2018 general election. Urus Harta Jemaah remained the owner of THHE until now. It was during this time, the delivery date was extended to August 2022 for OPV1 and a year later for both OPV2 and OPV3.

The release from MMEA

๐—ฃ๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—จ ๐—œ๐—ก๐——๐—”๐—›, ๐Ÿฎ ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ โ€“ Kapal Peronda Luar Pesisir Pertama (OPV1) secara rasminya diserahkan oleh pihak TH Heavy Engineering Berhad (THHE) kepada Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) dalam majlis yang diadakan pada hari ini.
Dalam majlis berkenaan, Ketua Setiausaha KDN, YBhg Datuk Haji Ruji bin Haji Ubi telah hadir untuk menerima OPV1 secara rasmi bagi membolehkan ianya diserahkan kepada Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia untuk melaksanakan tugas-tugas penguatkuasaan dan carilamat.
Penyerahan OPV1 ini adalah satu lagi detik bersejarah kepada kementerian ini khususnya Kerajaan MADANI kerana telah berjaya memastikan kapal peronda buatan tempatan ini siap dibina setelah beberapa kali berlaku penangguhan akibat ancaman Covid-19 selain proses membawa masuk peralatan teknikal terkini kapal yang diimport dari negara luar.
OPV1 ini dibina menggunakan rekabentuk Damen 1800 berukuran 83 meter panjang dengan lebar 13.7 meter dan berkeupayaan melakukan operasi di laut dalam jangka waktu 21 hari tanpa ulang bekal.
Reka bentuk kapal ini bakal menjadikan OPV1 berkemampuan menghadapi laut bergelora sehingga tahap Force 7. Ianya juga mampu melaksanakan tugas-tugas seperti Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR), bertindak sebagai Kapal Logistik, Kapal Mothership, Kapal Pemerintah, serta menjadi tempat penyimpanan Oil Pollution Equipment.
Turut hadir sama Ketua Pengarah Maritim Malaysia, Laksamana Maritim Datuk Hamid Mohd Amin serta Pengerusi TH Heavy Engineering Berhad, YBhg. Datoโ€™ Ir. Jauhari bin Hamidi.
OPV1 ini mampu mecapai kelajuan 21 knot serta mempunyai fasiliti seperti tapak pendaratan helikopter dan bilik tahanan. Malah ia juga turut dilengkapi dengan peralatan canggih seperti Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Meriam 30mm Smash Aselsan, dua buah bot jenis Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) Dan Fast Interceptor Craft.
OPV1 ini juga didatangkan bersama Radar X dan S Band bagi memastikan rondaan mampu bergerak secara meluas selain boleh menempatkan 70 orang anak kapal dalam satu-satu masa operasi.
Berdasarkan kehebatan yang ada pada kapal berkenaan, ia diharapkan mampu membantu Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (Maritim Malaysia) memperkasakan lagi pengoperasian agensi ini dalam menguatkuasakan undang-undang maritim seterusnya memastikan Zon Maritim Malaysia (ZMM) berada dalam keadaan selamat dan sejahtera.
Sebelum diserahkan kepada pihak Kementerian, OPV1 telah melalui beberapa fasa percubaan termasuk fasa ujian di laut (sea trial) yang dilakukan di Selat Melaka bersama aset-aset Maritim Malaysia yang terlibat dalam Eksesais Maritim Perkasa Barat pada 28 November lalu.

Home Ministry Secretary General Datuk Ruji Ubi speaking at the handover ceremony on the helo-deck of OPV1. APMM.

The current government it appears had taken credit for OPV1 (see the bold paragraph) despite the issues surrounding her delayed delivery and the unknown fate of her sister ships.

OPV1. KDN

The current government also extended a loan of RM152.6 million to THHE early last year to ensure the completion of OPV1 within the year. The completion of OPV2 and OPV3 remained under threat though as THHE had voluntary wound-up the company, putting at risk the completion of the uncompleted ships. Both ships remained in various stage of manufacturing when seen at the shipyard in 2019. Recent pictures showed the blocks seen in 2019 remained incomplete.
KDN graphic on OPV1.

OPV1 is likely to sail to her new homeport in Kuching soon where she is likely to be named.

— Malaysian Defence

If you like this post, buy me an espresso. Paypal Payment

Share
About Marhalim Abas 2290 Articles
Shah Alam

37 Comments

  1. And the name will be….*drum roll*… TBC later!

    “The current government it appears had taken credit for OPV1”
    Okayyy… so will they take blame too for delays with OPV2 & 3? No?

  2. Just like the LCS, the program was given to a company with no experience building such ships. And just like the pain LTAT has to endure with the LCS project, Lembaga TH has to endure pain from the OPV project. I suppose the PH government could play ball and pour endless money into both programs in 2018. Although I’m not sure if that will be good for the long-term prospects of both RMN and MMEA as it will still be RMN and MMEA’s monies that will be used to fund black hole projects – every dollar wasted on sustaining failing projects is one less dollar for new expenditures. One can only hope trying to keep both the LCS and OPV programs alive doesn’t jeopardise other programs.

  3. TH did not suffer much pain from the project as the company was hive off to MOF INC as soon as PH government did that as soon as it was in power.

  4. Marhalim,

    Error on the caption with the handover picture. The one handing off the document to the KSU is Ahmad Yusof, one of the TDSB directors. Dato Jauhari is the one next to him.

  5. @Kel
    It doesnt do well if PH Govt had played ball and followed the plan pumping in more money to cover these budget shortfalls. But at the very least TLDM & MMEA would started to get their ships going and they can huuhaa on that later. To insist for both services to suffer & wait while PH go in digging for dirt smacks of political witchunt.

  6. With THHE no longer able to complete them, why not the Govt contract back the original half of the JV, Destini, to takeover and finish the job? Giving it to a 3rd party that may not even had worked on these boats will lead to more time wasted and money spent.

  7. Joe, so play ball is bad meaning pump money is bad. But dont pump money things wont move also bad. But dont spend money and focus on cleaning makes MMEA and RMN suffer but put money without cleaning also make them suffer. So what exactly is the right course of action? Every dollar the government pump into failing projects is one dollar taken away from another requirement. I rather suffer short term pain than suffer long term drain of RMN and MMEA’s resources. Btw, these programs are not the only cost. Govt had to help TH with a generous buyout of TH’s assets includintlg THHE. Govt also had to buy out BNS which looks be additional cost. All those monies represent 1 dollar less for other spending.

  8. As it was involved in the project of course Destini is best suited to complete OPV2 and OPV3. Whether or not it will want to will depend on whether it can be profitable. I think the reason Destini left the JV was due to the fact that it knew that it will be dragged into the THHE financial imbroglio even though it is just a partner for the OPV project.

  9. I think we can already say that the second and third ship is already dead considering the company have been wound-up. So let’s forget about the second and the third ship. They not going to be delivered anyway. They will end up as scrap metal.

  10. @Kel
    Its a catch22 there is no way that will make everyone happy, but the powers then should take stock who should be the real victors & losers in this outcome and go for it. All I saw was a reactive action and mostly all came out unhappy, except the persons who should be responsible didnt pay the price. Mind you some of them are at the very high levels in Govt today. So make it what you will why this was the outcome.

    “Destini left the JV was due to the fact that it knew”
    Likely so, but now that bomb has exploded so the Govt can assuredly call Destini back in to pickup the pieces and take a knee for the country. Perhaps with the surety of new follow on orders? Hahaha!

  11. Destini is a big and strong company. Apart from o&g and energy player, they also a player in defence industry namely land, marine and aerospace. If gov can shows some profits or benefits for Destini to take back this project, why not.

  12. Forget the lical companies. Just contract Damen manufacturer to produce more for us . Will be cheaper, faster n assured deliveries. The Malaysian gov with 2 shipyards will become the largest ship builder but with no expertise in ship building. Its not the govs job to build ships. The gov must only govern

  13. @Akmal
    The Govt has paid for OPV2&3 by hook or by crook and no matter how long it will take they will get them, look at how eventually the training ships are delivered into service.

  14. Destini Berhad does not have its own shipyard big enough for those OPVs.

    I believe even the destini-owned shipyard that builds the NGPC (which only can accommodate shipbuilds up to 50m length), has closed down due to tax issues with LHDN, and now belongs to another company.
    https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/destini-unit-slapped-windingup-petition-after-failing-settle-payment-irb

    So, if anyone expects Destini to take up the project, no can do as it currently does not have the capability to do so.

  15. Looks like nobody responsible for compromising the security of our country being reprimanded.

    As long as people getting off scott-free for failing their responsibility, things such as the LCS and OPV fiasco will repeat in the future.

  16. @Lee
    “Forget the lical companies.”
    Its easy to say but a lot of political repercussions and affects their voting base
    https://www.malaysiandefence.com/some-things-never-change/

    @hulubalang
    “Petronas-managed Project Safina.”
    Bad enough 2 local yards are taken under by Govt projects, you want to drag Petronas down into the gutter too? If Petronas goes under, can kiss our oil wealth goodbye.

  17. Or pass them to gading marine maybe? cuz as far as i know gading marine are proposing damen sigma for LMS B2..surely they are capable to built 1800 tonnes ship(or they thought they are)..Or else shin yang sarawak that have built al quwaisat LST for UAE

  18. @ joe

    Petronas has managed so many mega projects for malaysia, including KLCC and Putrajaya, and did not failed or go under for it.

    FYI Putrajaya was built fully managed by Petronas owned company – Putrajaya Holdings. When it was built, all Putrajaya Holdings employees are actually under Petronas payroll, and most are seconded from KLCC project.

    For defence, Petronas has also paid for and managed the conversion of Bunga Mas 5 & 6, PL Tun Sharifah Rodziah and KA Tun Azizan.

  19. If THHE yard unable to revive, Destini unable to take then no choice but a 3rd party yard. Gading so far been building light boats & FIC for Govt. If 3rd party is to take over I prefer Grade One Marine, its yard is relatively close at Lumut, and they have had prior experience to revive Govt dead projects, the Samuderas, which is close in size to OPV so I believe their yard could take these on. Ironic if they come in to rescue once again.

  20. Gading Marine? of course not, the yard is too small and only suits the AL FIC building. Not too sure about their finances. MHB is there and available, so as a few of Terengganu’s, Labuan’s and Sarawak’s based shipyard. Let’s boat builder do what they do best. Build boats.

  21. The only way for THHE to be revive is for a white knight to pay of its debts and then get the government to agree to restart the project.

  22. @hulubalang
    Petronas managed their own projects well but when it has Govt interference things go south ie Penggerang. It can throw money to cover failures but how will it cover up such visible failures as OPV (& LCS)? And with such highly regard brandname now, we cannot afford for Petronas to get dragged into bad press. Nope, there are other yards to do the job without risking Petronas, we just gave to the unqualified ones only.

    “The only way for THHE to be revive is for a white knight to pay of its debts”
    Thats what Ocean Sunshine is doing for LCS, so perhaps they could be tasked the same for THHE yard + OPV2&3?

  23. @ joe

    Project Safina

    Petronas is only managing the project. Ships are built by a consortium of 10 shipyards all across malaysia.

  24. A white knight means someone stepping in to take over on behalf of the government, taking on the liabilities (e.g., debts and payables). It means the government doesn’t foot the bill. It’s all about money, not so much the legality (although it does matter). If the government had the money, it would pay off the debt and payables to put the program on a financially clean slate. But something else has to give – maybe the mother ship program has to be sacrificed. For example, the RM150m loan to THHE has to be paid back. Else the government would have incurred a loss or additional expenditure equivalent to 20% of the original contract value. Reason why the old school mentality of pouring money into failed projects to reduce pain is long-term bad for MMEA and RMN. One could go to Damen and say, “remember the LCS proposal you made back in the day of making Malaysia a hub for Damen? We would like to invite you to have a discussion on how to make it happen” – we allow Damen to own our shipyards and give them long term contracts for ships of various sizes which both MMEA and RMN needs anyway plus we know there is demand in the region. This is similar to what happened to Proton, and what is being proposed for the HSR revival. The government will need to get pass the affirmative action resistance under the guise of “national security”. Honestly, the options include commit to OPV2 only. Or scrap the program and find more second-hand ships, repurposing any money left to other programs.

  25. @ joe

    ” We need yards with experience to build appropriate ships, not layer of managers ”

    Before you comment, please know the topic

    These are the experience of the yards for Project Safina >>>>>>>

    Petronas New Build Program: Safina Project Phase 1 (Prioritisation of Local Built Vessels)

    All 10 yards that were shortlisted by Petronas for the Phase 1 of Safina Project, are AMIM members. All bidders are required to engage these listed shipyards for construction of 16 OSVs.

    Local shipyards have the capacity and capability to involve in the big national project such as Safina Project. Malaysian shipyards have built over 297 OSVs since 2005 and have been sold worldwide.

    SBSR industry in Malaysia covers an extensive range of ships, most of which specialize in building small-medium sized vessels such as ferries, barges, tugs, offshore support vessels, yachts, fishing vessels, and patrol crafts. We had exported our Malaysian Made vessels to the foreign countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islander (Fiji, Tokelau, New Caledonia), UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand and even our closest neighbor, Singapore.
    https://icf.newscdn.net/publisher-c1a3f893382d2b2f8a9aa22a654d9c97/2021/03/60112fd26511cf277f129fd3904649f3.png

    BTW Project Safina Phase 2 will start in Q3 2024. Still time for the government to slot in APMM patrol ship needs into the project.

  26. kel – ”Just like the LCS, the program was given to a company with no experience building such ships.”

    ”Just like the LCS” the programme was awarded to a company which was not in sound financial position because nobody bothered to have a close look. We had the same situation with the Little Birds; the Korean ships and several others.

    In short we need not only an ”experienced” yard but one in sound financial position and one actually able to undertake what it was contracted to do. Several things have to fall into place – like a list of ”experienced” yards which did not deliver on time?
    This is nothing to do with any poppycock/nonsense of ”playing safe”; obfuscation; making excuses or seeing things which aren’t there. Brass tacks …

    kel – ”One can only hope trying to keep both the LCS and OPV programs alive doesnโ€™t jeopardise other programs.”

    If you really believe that; must as well start waiting for Cinderella or Buck Rogers. As sure a night will turn to day tomorrow, delays and overruns will have an impact on other areas.

    ”One can only hope” we reach a point where we say the proverbial ”enough is enough” and start awarding contracts based on merit and based on the need to ensure the end user and taxpayer’s get their ringgit’s worth; rather than basing things on patronage and national interests and partaking in the usual hubris.

  27. @Kel
    “It means the government doesnโ€™t foot the bill.”
    Who would be so stupid or that magnanimous to do such thing? Even if corporations agreed to such, their shareholders & investors wont wear it. And no savvy businessman would be so philanthropic without expecting something in return, and which will breed cronyism. Do we really want this?

    As for Damen owning the yard, it will depend if the Govt sees this as a strategic asset, if yes it will not fly. Even if the Govt made promises to Damen in return, will they actually keep this promise? The Govt had promised BNS more follow on SGPV orders but none came and they had to let go a lot of staff until LCS came into the picture years later. Do you really think Damen, as a foreign based independent profit-driven private company, can easily be taken by such promises?

    @Hulubalang
    “These are the experience of the yards for Project Safina”
    Which is a civvie project driven by professionals in the private sector. Govt defence projects cannot be assumed to be of the same breed. Looking how much the implications from the fallout of LCS & OPV, yeah no thanks, please don’t burden Petronas with such risk & tarring their good name. They are a cash cow not a sacrificial one. They wouldnt even want to be in a field they are not familiar with. There are other shipyards experienced with defence projects that should get priority. The key is choice must be sound & based on facts.

  28. When I say lets just put in APMM ship requirements into Project Safina, i meant :

    1) APMM list out the ship requirements, budget, quantity. For example NGPC batch 2. Patrol ship 40-45m length, speed, endurance etc. Or just pick a design, say the DAMEN FCS 4008 patrol. Qty 9 (as per 2024 budget). Budget handed over to Petronas.

    2) Petronas will allocate additional 9 slots in Project Safina Phase 2 shipbuilding plan in addition to its own requirements. Shipbuilding will be tendered out and assigned to the various audited and capable shipyards that meets Petronas own strict requirements. All the decisions made and overseen by Petronas Project Management Team.

    3) Ships build and delivered on time to Petronas. Petronas then hands over the ships to APMM.

    4) So the project from start to finish has to meet Petronas own strict standards as it will be fully managed by Petronas. Less chance of non-capable shipyard to get the job.

  29. @hulubalang
    Again your pointing out that Petronas are doing none of the actual ship building and simply just the middleman, a management layer. And I say no thank you. A competent shipyard will know how to manage their own builds. We dont need 3rd parties skimming off an already impossibly tight budget.

  30. @ joe

    Still you don’t understand what Project Safina is about

    1) it is not done at “petronas shipyard”. It is for Phase 1, allocated to 10 capable shipyards all around malaysia, that are AMIM members.

    2) This Project Safina is not to build Petronas-owned ships. Actually this project is Petronas helping to manage shipbuilding for their contractors, that will actually own all these ships. Slotting in APMM in the program will treat APMM as just another “contractor” in need of new ships. By managing this, it is to get value from big number of builds, getting the best cost and having all the ships properly managed and completed on time.

    3) Petronas has done this before. Which is why TLDM got its Bunga Mas 5 & 6, PL Tun Sharifah Rodziah and KA Tun Azizan. All of that is 100% from Petronas own budget, and it did not bankrupt Petronas. What i am proposing is for the APMM shipbuilding budget given to Petronas to manage and execute (eliminating meddling from other parties), which has much more experience in managing shipbuilding and offshore structures construction, as it is what they do everyday. This Project Safina is basically Petronas helping their multitude of ship-owning contractors anyway. To get petrol in your car or gas for your cooking, there is always new oil & gas platforms to be built, new ships to service the platforms, new processing plants floating at sea and on shore.
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/2022_4_21_Petronas_FLNG.jpg

  31. @hulubalang
    Point 1) & 2) Again & again your pointing out that Petronas are doing none of the actual ship building and simply just the middleman, a management layer.

    Point 3) “TLDM got its Bunga Mas 5 & 6, PL Tun Sharifah Rodziah and KA Tun Azizan”
    Incorrect. These are not made specifically for TLDM but were excess material (or forced donations by Petronas?) in which case it was civvie converted units. This is different than building a naval vessel from scratch. As you pointed, Petronas arent the ones building these ships so why get them involved when they have no shipbuilding experience aka BNS, THHE?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*