Image source: topwar.ru
When launching the program for the purchase of frigates (formally littoral combat ships) of the French Gowind 2500 project, Malaysia insisted on their construction at local facilities. Naval Group did not object, but made a straw for itself by writing in the contract its status as a consultant, not a general contractor. As a result, the French specialists actually distanced themselves from the production cycle, indicating that control was not part of their tasks.
The Malaysians received the necessary drawings and documentation from the Naval Group, but made more than 400 changes to the project after the start of construction (the ship was laid down in March 2016). They used immature technologies and components that had not been tested.
In August 2017, before the elections, a solemn but fictitious "launching" took place in the presence of the sultan: the ship was an empty "box" without a mast and weapons.
Image source: topwar.ru
In 2018, a corruption scandal broke out under the new government. During the investigation, it turned out that when choosing Naval Group as a partner (instead of the German TKMS), huge sums were paid to intermediaries. Another audit revealed embezzlement worth about $300 million.
When money started disappearing from the project, the shipyard stopped paying the Naval Group and other subcontractors. As a result, French technical specialists began to leave it. At the end of 2019, the work actually stopped.
It was only in May 2023 that the project was restarted. The government actually nationalized the BNS shipyard in order to complete the series under direct state control. Naval Group then returned to the program for a fee, but no longer as a consultant, but as an active partner. The cost of the project increased from the initial 6 billion to 11.22 billion ringgit (about $2.4 billion). Malaysian politicians joked bitterly about this, saying that they "bought the same ship twice."
Technical characteristics of the Maharaja Lela project (also known as Gowind 3100):
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Finally, on January 28 of this year, the lead frigate KD Maharaja Lela left the shipyard, entering sea trials almost 10 years after the laying. But there is still a lot of work to be done. The main work is currently underway inside the building and concerns the relocation of cables and ventilation systems that were installed incorrectly or became unusable during downtime.
Local politicians accuse Naval Group of deliberately disrupting the project, pointing out that the French shipbuilder successfully fulfilled contracts for the supply of Gowind 2500 frigates of the same type to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, but behaved unacceptably towards Malaysia, as it insisted on building ships at its facilities.:
At the same time, the date of commissioning of KD Maharaja Lela was again shifted from August to December 2026. Three more ships of the same project are being built in parallel.
