Naval Group to Help Malaysia Restart Warship Project
KUALA LUMPUR / PARIS: French naval ship designer Naval Group has given its assurance to support the Malaysian government’s efforts in resuming the stalled Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project.
Naval Group also expressed its commitment to ensure that the ships will be completed according to the stipulated time frame set by the Malaysian government, the country’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement.
“The company also agreed to resume talks with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNSSB) on the price,” it said, adding that Naval Group also expressed its commitment to ensuring that the LCS project will be completed within the time frame set by the government.
This followed talks between a Malaysian delegation and Gael Diaz De Tuesta, the head of the International Directorate of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), the French Defence Ministry, and Naval Group.
The Malaysian delegation comprised of Defence Ministry secretary-general Muez Abd Aziz, deputy Navy chief Admiral Abdul Rahman Ayob, and Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) chief executive Nazim Rahman, and several others, the Mindef statement said. The meeting was conducted during a working visit to the four-day Euronaval exhibition and conference which ended Oct 21 in Paris.
The statement said that this latest development is “significant and positive for the LCS project and it will ensure the project resumes smoothly.”
Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) which owns Boustead Naval Shipyard, a government linked company, was awarded a contract to build six Littoral Combat Ships based on the Naval Group “Gowind” 2500 corvette design in 2011 which was later modified to a frigate of more than 3,000 tonnes.
The Gowind design is a family of steel monohull frigates, corvettes, and offshore patrol vessels developed in 2006 by France’s Naval Group, formerly known as DCNS. — adj/mgm/mhi (images: DCNS/Facebook/Naval Group)
