BHIC’s associate company marks key milestones with LMS1, LMS2

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) – Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC)’s associate company, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), marked key milestones with the keel laying for the first Littoral Mission Ship (LMS1) and steel cutting for the second Littoral Mission Ship (LMS2).

The vessels are currently being built at the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industrial Group (WSIG) Shipyard in Shuangliu, China, in collaboration with China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co Ltd (CSOC).

BHIC Executive Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor said BNS' close collaboration with the Royal Malaysian Navy LMS team, as well as. the team in WSIG had contributed to the progress in the construction of the first two units of LMS in China.

“The LMS project also showcases Malaysia’s capabilities in shipbuilding and high technologies, and highlights local skills and talents in constructing sophisticated vessels,” Ahmad Ramli, who is also BNS Managing Director, said in a statement today.

The LMS is a new class of RMN warships that will bolster Malaysia’s maritime defence as part of the Navy’s 15 to 5 Transformation Plan to replace ageing RMN warships and create a lean, fit-for-purpose armada.

The procurement contract to jointly build the LMS was signed on March 23, 2018 between BNS and the Malaysian government with CSOC acting as a partner shipyard of BNS.

The LMS is capable of operating in multi-mission roles, as a result of the ship’s ability to carry up to three standard intermodal containers containing mission modules and stern launch boats for quick reaction missions.

-- BERNAMA