TSAMTO, December 21. On December 16, the ceremony of handing over the fourth and last patrol ship of the coastal zone LMS (Littoral Mission Ships) "Renkong" of the Keris class to the command of the Malaysian Navy took place at the Wuchuan Shipyard.
According to the Malaysian media, in the coming days the ship will leave China and head to the home port. Due to difficult weather conditions, arrival in Malaysia is expected in the last days of December. Due to quarantine measures, the ship's acceptance into service may take place no earlier than mid-January 2022. As planned, the patrol ship (114) Renkong will join the combat squadron of the Malaysian Navy and will be stationed at the Sepanggar Naval Base in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah).
As reported by TSAMTO, on March 23, 2017, the Ministry of Defense of Malaysia signed a contract with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd for the supply of the country's Navy, together with a Chinese partner, four LMS coastal patrol ships. BNS acted as the main contractor of the project and was supposed to ensure the supply of ships jointly with the Chinese corporation CSOC. The contract value was 1.17 billion. Malaysian Ringgit ($289 million). It was planned that the first two LMS ships would be built by Wuchang Shipbuilding in China, and two more at the BNS shipyard in Lumut (Malaysia).
In March 2019, a revision of the terms of the contract was announced. According to the decision of the Malaysian government, all four ships should be built in China, and the cost of delivery is reduced to 1.048 billion. Malaysian Ringgit ($205 million).
The lead ship of the series, (111) Keris was transferred to the Malaysian Navy on December 31, 2019 and arrived in the country in January 2020. The second ship, (112) Sundang, joined the fleet in March 2021, the third, Badik, in October 2021.
Construction of the fourth ship of the series, (114) Renkong, began on September 18, 2019, the launching ceremony took place in December 2020.
