TSAMTO, December 5. The Malaysian Navy plans to accelerate the acquisition of two multi-role Support ships MRSS (Multi-Role Support Ships).
According to Defense Security Asia, this was stated by the commander of the joint forces of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Haji Yazid Arshad. According to him, there is an urgent need for the urgent acquisition of MRSS vessels, given that the service life of the existing support ships is almost 40 years. The Navy leadership expects that the government will continue to work to ensure the procedure for allocating funds for the project.
Recently, the Mahawangsa multi-purpose support ship completed a resupply mission for the Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) in Lebanon. To further increase the operations of the Malaysian Armed Forces, at least four MRSS-class vessels are needed, two of which will work in the Western Fleet and two in the Eastern Fleet.
Recall that in January last year, the commander of the Malaysian Navy, Admiral Reza Mohd Sani, confirmed plans to purchase multi-purpose MRSS support ships under the "12th Malaysian Plan" (2021-2025). They will replace obsolete support ships in service, which are not adapted for amphibious operations and are operated beyond their estimated service life.
In September 2021, former Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein stated in a written response to Parliament that the government plans to purchase two MRSS ships starting in 2024. Apparently, as a result, the Navy faced further problems in financing this multi-year project.
As TSAMTO has already reported, the requirement to supply three MRSS platforms was originally provided for in the "9th Malaysian Plan" (2006-2010). In December 2007, it was assumed that a tender for their supply would be announced within 18 months. However, due to lack of financial resources, the contract was not signed. Subsequently, the number of vessels purchased was reduced to two, and the request for financing of the program was re-included in the "11th Malaysian Plan" (2016-2020).
In December 2007, the Spanish Navantia was named as one of the potential applicants for the implementation of the program. Navantia has signed an agreement with a Malaysian shipbuilding company on the possibility of supplying a vessel designed on the basis of the Galicia-class DVKD of the Spanish Navy.
In 2016, the Indonesian state shipbuilding company PT PAL signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) on cooperation in the construction of a ship based on the Makassar project.
Within the framework of the Maritime / Air Systems & Technologies Asia defense exhibition and conference held in Tokyo from June 17 to 19, 2019, the Japanese shipbuilding company Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (Mitsui E&S) presented its project of a multi-purpose MRSS support ship, which can also participate in the Malaysian Navy tender.
