SHAH ALAM: Fast and multi-purpose. It appears that the RMN Eastern Fleet has already conducting field testing of a multi-purpose boat. It is unclear however whether the boat which was featured in a social media post by the fleet command on Nov. 11 is the one that has won the tender, published on Sept 24 and closed on Oct. 16. It did not identify the manufacturer. (See the comments by Mike for clarification on the issue)
The post via the Eastern Fleet Twitter feed.
Laju & serba boleh!
Perolehan aset baru TLDM seperti Multi-Purpose Boat (MPB) dijangka dpt memperkasa rondaan #OpBenteng di sekitar kawasan operasi. Panglima Armada Timur berpuas hati dgn prestasi serta kemampuan bot ini semasa sesi uji cuba pagi ini.
I asked the Eastern Fleet which shipyard had built the boat on testing and the reply was “Sandakan Jaya Teknik Sdn Bhd”. A quick Google search showed the shipyard had been building fibreglass boats for private companies and Sabah state departments for at least five years now.
A 50 foot boat built by Sandakan Jaya Teknik Sdn Bhd. Sandakan Jaya Teknik Sdn Bhd.
From the earlier posting on the tender for the boats:
The MPB will also be used for the supply of logistics to RMN sea basing and offshore sites and general transportation.
The other technical aspects
“It shall be able to maintain cruising at 35 knots and sprinting speed more than 48 knots (half load), 45knots (full load) and shall be able to be transported by land using low loader truck and hoisted using at least 10 tonnes crane.Robustness. It shall be able to withstand rough handling andoperating in sea condition not less than Sea State 2.Simplicity. It shall be easy to operate and manned by minimum number of crews three (3) which is helmsman, technical and seaman staff
From the pictures uploaded from the Twitter post, it appears that the boat undergoing testing fits the specifications and requirements of three MPB tender.
It must be noted that the eperolehan have not announced the winner of the tender. The boat under going testing may well be the winner of the tender but the page has not been updated with it as of Nov. 11.
From the price list schedule, five companies were deemed qualified for the tender. The lowest bid is RM2.3 million while the highest was RM5.7 million.
Updated with clarification by Mike, see comments section
— Malaysian Defence
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the equipment
gps chartplotter
http://www.furuno.com/en/products/chartplotter/GP-1871F
radar and radar display
http://www.furuno.com/en/products/radar/MODEL1835
outboard motor
http://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/outboards/350-150-hp/v6-4-2l
Boats are unarmed? I understand they are mainly for transport but given the situation in Sabah it would be prudent to have a machine gun or some light sort of light weaponry on board.
Reply
Likely on operations they will carry at least two sailors armed with M4s
Seeing the highest and lowest bid with one double the price of the other, just wow.
Just hope to God we won’t have retired Generals and/or Admirals dominating the company that won this tender!
As for TUDM, while its nice to get brand new shiny stuffs, we shouldn’t forget to allocate sufficient money to maint what we already have.
We still need the funds to SLEP the MKMs (which got pushed back), the funds to upgrade the legacy Hornets in Aus (undergoing now), and bolster their numbers with Kuwaiti Hornets (we should look to book them now by paying some downpayment), the LIFT won’t come in time so maint on the Hawks too, if the OPEX covers the wet-lease of choppers we should also budget the funds, also if the Nuris haven’t yet been replaced we should budget for more EC225/EC725s (with latest engine & gearbox).
just for comparison
The current tentera darat boat in ESSCOM
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/P2020302.JPG
Taib – “we won’t have retired Generals and/or Admirals”
If the company gains contacts on merit; delivering on schedule, within budget and on specifications; who cares whether there are “ retired Generals and/or Admirals” as directors.
ASM – “but given the situation in Sabah”
The standard modus operandi for kidnappers/bandits (which is what the intruders are) is to avoid contact with security forces in order to get their “product” and head back home without any trouble. In the vast majority of cases intruders head back for home if detected: engaging in a firefight doesn’t make them any money.
We haven’t reached a stage yet; and we hope we won’t; where we face well armed non state actors whose whole intention is to seek contact with our security forces.
The landing of 100/150 men ;with accompanying women and kids – no idea why they were brought along) in 2013 was an abnormally which is unlikely to reoccur due to various factors.
ASM – “prudent to have a machine gun or some light sort of light weaponry on board”
All CB-90’s/FTCs/boats carry small arms for self defence, including but not always pintle mounted MGs.
The problem is that unless sea conditions are very calm (rarely), the boat is moving very slowly or static; it’s very hard to hit anything from a moving/pitching/rolling boat.
PART I GENERAL SCOPE OF SUPPLY FOR MULTI PURPOSE BOAT (MPB). Statement of Requirement. To supply and deliver Multi Purpose Boat (MPB) for Eastern Command Fleet Headquarters. SOC Evaluation. Tenderer shall submit a matrix of compliance for the SOC.
Marhalim,
This single boat is bought under separate tender (published in June) which was awarded to Sandakan Jaya Teknik. The tender number is QT200000000018311 with the following requirement :
PART I GENERAL SCOPE OF SUPPLY FOR MULTI PURPOSE BOAT (MPB). Statement of Requirement. To supply and deliver Multi Purpose Boat (MPB) for Eastern Command Fleet Headquarters. SOC Evaluation. Tenderer shall submit a matrix of compliance for the SOC.
Yep there is no winner yet for the other tender (for 3 more – for Ops Benteng) though, it could be given to the same company (most likely) or any other. Overall, Eastern Fleet will be getting 4 MPBs.
Reply
Thanks for the clarification, Mike
@ azlan
” We haven’t reached a stage yet; and we hope we won’t; where we face well armed non state actors whose whole intention is to seek contact with our security forces ”
We should not wait until that happens. If they can do that without us having the means to counter that, lahad datu mk2 will happen.
….- “We should not wait until that happens”
No we shouldn’t; I’m not suggesting we should and the MAF isn’t taking in for granted either …
Merely pointing out the actual threat we currently face in ESSCOM; the threat as it has been for a while now and the threat we likely to face there for the foreseeable future : non state kidnap gangs whose motive is monetary; rather than “insurgents” or ‘militants” whose objective – whether for political or idealogical reasons – seek contact with our security forces.
Never mind the fact that the Eastern coast of Sabah is much better protected now; the geo political situation in the ‘Sulu’ area has also changed: even before the passing of the ‘BangsaMoro’ law.
Look it shows that there are plenty of players in the shipbuilding industry that deserved to be looked at other than the likes of Bousted or TTHE
Repl
At the lower end of the scale there are many players