KUANTAN: The construction of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency’s multi-purpose mission ship (MPMS), which will act as the mother ship, will begin in early 2025 with a cost of RM330 million.
Its acting director-general, Maritime Vice Admiral Datuk Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, said that the Home Ministry is expected to finalize the specifications by the end of this month.
Following this, he said the tender process for the vessel is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Saiful Lizan said he hope that the firm that secures the tender will start building the vessel in the first quarter of next year since the Cabinet has already approved the budget for the construction of the vessel.
“A RM280 million budget was previously approved under the 12th Malaysian Plan.
“However, due to the rise in global raw material price following the pandemic (Covid-19) an additional RM50 million has been approved.
“The process is already in the final stages,” he told reporters at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Maritime Academy here today.
Saiful Lizan earlier inspected the Passing Out Parade of 75 junior Able rate (Laskar Kelas 2) who completed their 10-month training today.
He said the mothership would be capable of strengthening the surveillance of the country’s waters and ensuring the agency’s patrol boats oversee a wider area to safeguard the country’s waters.
to strengthen the surveillance of the country’s waters.
Meanwhile, Saiful Lizan said the MMEA will acquire the decommissioned United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) ‘Steadfast’ vessel early next year.
“The Malaysian government received a letter of acceptance from their US counterparts yesterday(Aug 2) for the vessel to help boost our enforcement and rescue efficiency at sea.
“MMEA is grateful to the Home Ministry for helping to strengthen our enforcement with additional assets.
“The vessel measuring 64m long can reach a speed of 18 knots and can accommodate up to 75 crew at any one time.
“The vessel is currently docked in Baltimore and will begin its journey to Malaysia in the first quarter of next year once all the necessary process is completed,” he said.
It was reported that Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ruji Ubi had signed the letter of acceptance for the vessel in Putrajaya yesterday which was also attended by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Meanwhile, on equipping MMEA enforcement personnel on duty in the field with body-worn cameras, Saiful Lizan said they were awaiting the procurement process for the acquisition of 763 units of the cameras.
“MMEA has been allocated a budget of RM5 million and if the quotation can be finalised by October this year, MMEA hopes to receive the units in stages early next year.
“Currently, body-worn cameras are used by MMEA officers escorting Bank Simpanan Nasional(BSN) funds which are brought to Pulau Tioman. Those cameras were contributed by BSN and are not part of the tender process,” he said.
On July 24, Saiful Lizan was reported saying that all MMEA enforcement personnel on duty in the field will be equipped with body-worn cameras to ensure no violations of standard operating procedures.
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