PARLIAMENT | The long-delayed littoral combat ship (LCS) project for the Royal Malaysian Navy has suffered yet another setback, with sea trials postponed to April - months later than previously scheduled.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Defence Minister Khaled Nordin said that since the entire project has been delayed, the sea trial scheduled for October last year did not commence.
“I want to clarify that the sea trial is indeed delayed and will begin in April, while the delivery that was supposed to be in August has been delayed by four months to December.
“Ultimately, we as the customer want to ensure that the vessel is safe, complies with specifications, and achieves the level of operational readiness as expected,” the minister said in response to questions from Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah).
In July last year, Khaled said the first LCS entered its setting to work phase in May and was slated for sea trial in December.
Behind on progress
Admitting that the ministry and the armed forces, particularly the navy, share widespread concerns about the LCS delays, Khaled today told Parliament that as of Dec 25 last year, the overall progress of the project is at 75.75 percent, instead of the projected 81.57 percent.
He noted that for LCS1, the progress stands at 82.90 percent, compared to the expected 96.52 percent.
“This progress covers the construction of the ship’s structure, installation of major equipment, and integration of the ship’s systems.
“Although there are delays compared to the original schedule, the ministry has been informed by the Lumut Naval Shipyard that LCS1 has been successfully launched into the water and is in the phase of installation and integration of the ship’s main systems,” he added.
He also said that preparations are being actively carried out to enable a full sea trial to begin in early April, explaining that the vessel will embark on its first sea-going on Jan 28 after a sea testing phase began on Jan 20.
“The commissioning of LCS2 has been revised to August 2027. For the subsequent vessels, the commissioning of LCS3 remains in December 2027, LCS4 in August 2028, and LCS5 in April 2029,” the minister added.
PAC inspection
Last week, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) announced that it will visit the navy base in Lumut, Perak on Jan 30 to assess the progress of the LCS project.
PAC chairperson Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) said that once the visit is completed, another proceeding related to the LCS will be held.
In 2022, PAC recommended that MACC take prosecutive action against those behind the multi-billion-ringgit LCS project.
Among other findings, the committee highlighted that while the government paid RM6.083 billion for the project, not a single LCS ship has been completed. - Mkini
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