Malaysia adds funds to troubled littoral combat ship program

SINGAPORE — Malaysia is pumping more money into its troubled Littoral Combat Ship program, despite reductions in capabilities and scheduling delays.

The government announced the move during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition last week, signing its sixth supplementary contract with shipbuilder Boustead Naval Shipyard on May 26.

This latest contract will see Malaysia pay an additional $430 million for the ships, which are based on the Gowind-class frigate by France’s Naval Group . Malaysia will also reduce the number of ships it will receive under the revised contract from six to five, and accept an additional delay to the ships’ deliveries.

Under the new delivery schedule, Boustead Naval Shipyard will deliver the lead ship — KD Maharaja Lela — in 2026, seven years after the originally planned date. The company will deliver the final ship, KD Tok Janggut, in 2029, five years later than initially planned.

Malaysia’s Finance Ministry will take over the shipbuilder by setting up of a special-purpose vehicle to acquire Boustead Naval Shipyard from its parent company, Boustead Heavy Industries Corp.

Malaysia selected the Gowind design for its second-generation patrol vessel program in 2011, awarding a $1.96 billion contract to Boustead Heavy Industries for the six ships, with construction to take place in Lumut, Malaysia. The government subsequently renamed the effort as the Littoral Combat Ship program.

The lead ship, KD Maharaja Lela, launched in August 2017, but the program was soon plagued by construction delays and cost overruns. A parliamentary public accounts committee launched an investigation into the program, during which members visited the shipyard and interviewed a former defense minister, among other defense and company officials.

The committee revealed in August 2022 that work on the ships had completely halted by then. It also alleged that $300 million was misappropriated from the program, which led to fraud charges leveled against Boustead Heavy Industries’ former managing director, Ahmad Ramli Mohammad Nor.

Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.

新加坡——尽管濒海战斗舰项目能力下降、进度延误，马来西亚仍在向其陷入困境的濒海战斗舰项目投入更多资金。

政府上周在兰卡威国际海事和航空航天展览会上宣布了这一举措，并于 5 月 26 日与造船商 Boustead Naval Shipyard 签署了第六份补充合同。

根据最新合同，马来西亚将为这些舰艇额外支付4.3亿美元，这些舰艇以法国海军集团的“戈温德”级护卫舰为基础。马来西亚还将把根据修订后的合同接收的舰艇数量从六艘减少到五艘，并接受舰艇交付时间的进一步延期。

根据新的交付计划，布斯泰德海军造船厂将于2026年交付首舰“玛哈拉贾·莱拉”号，比原计划晚了七年。该公司将于2029年交付最后一艘舰艇“托克·詹古特”号，比原计划晚了五年。

马来西亚财政部将通过成立一家特殊目的公司，从其母公司 Boustead Heavy Industries Corp. 手中收购 Boustead Naval Shipyard，从而接管这家造船企业。

2011年，马来西亚选择了Gowind的设计方案作为其第二代巡逻舰项目，并授予布斯泰德重工一份价值19.6亿美元的合同，建造六艘舰艇，建造地点位于马来西亚卢穆特。随后，马来西亚政府将该项目更名为濒海战斗舰项目。

首舰“KD Maharaja Lela”号于2017年8月下水，但该项目很快便遭遇了工期延误和成本超支的困境。议会公共账目委员会对该项目展开调查，期间委员会成员走访了造船厂，并采访了包括国防部长在内的多位国防部和公司官员。

该委员会于2022年8月披露，当时这些船舶的建造工作已完全停止。委员会还指控该项目挪用了3亿美元，导致布斯泰德重工前总经理艾哈迈德·拉姆利·穆罕默德·诺尔被控欺诈。

Mike Yeo 是《防务新闻》的亚洲通讯员。