SHAH ALAM: It appears that the Home Ministry is now able to appoint a new builder to complete the two MMEA OPV left uncomplete by the previous contractor. The ministry can do this as it had cancelled the contract with THHE Destini Sdn Bhd (THHE) on December 31, 2024.
The Home Minister in a written statement to Parliament on February 6 (yes, I missed it) that it issued some RM18.075 million in liquidated ascertained damages to the company for the delays in completing the three OPVs. The bulk of the LAD – some RM12 million and change – is for the delays on OPV 2 and OPV 3. The rest is for the delay on KM Tun Fatimah.
The ministry also issued another LAD of RM9600 for the delay of THHE to supply 12 general purpose machine guns. THHE and its UAS provider, Alti, of South Africa are also liable for the LAD of RM1,200 per day for the delay in the supply, delivery, training, tests, and commissioning of the Transition UAVs for the OPVs.
The LAD for UAS is from October 1, 2024, to February 9, 2025, the deadline for commissioning of the UAVs. As it will be 131 days for the deadline, THHE is liable of a LAD amount of some RM157,200. The ministry nor MMEA has not announced whether the commissioning of the UAS has taken place though. It did not say whether the GPMGs have been delivered or not
Honestly, despite the statement, I am not sure whether the LAD amount will be collected from THHE as it could not pay its other creditors. Moreover as Malaysian Defence reported previously, THHE is now owned by Urusharta Jemaah Sdn Bhd, a Ministry of Finance Incorporated company, from late 2018 or early 2019. Urusharta Jemaah took over THHE from its original owner, Tabung Haji, as the company was riddled with debts. The government even pumped money into THHE to ensure the completion of the first OPV. Without any further prospect of funding, Urusharta started winding-up THHE in September 2023 with the process completed with the delivery of KM Tun Fatimah in January 2024.
In November, Malaysian Defence reported that a tender could be held to complete the two OPVs. With the contract with the original builder cancelled, the process to get the two ships completed could be start soon, if money were available, of course.
MMEA director-general Rear Admiral (Maritime) Rosli Abdullah said the agency has issued RFI to 12 shipyards to determine the way forward for the revival of the two incomplete vessels.
According to Rosli, OPV2 was 70 per cent complete while the more was needed on OPV3 as she is only 50 per cent complete. He said OPV 2 could be completed within 12 months as the new builder needs only to connect the two main blocks together.
The statement by the Home Ministry:
Tuan Yang di-Pertua,
Mesyuarat Jemaah Menteri pada 22 Mac 2024 telah bersetuju supaya
kontrak perolehan Pembekalan, Pemasangan, Pengujian dan
Pentauliahan Tiga (3) Unit Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) C/W Fitting &
Accessories untuk Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM)
ditamatkan setelah sesi penyerahan kapal OPV 1 oleh syarikat THHE
Destini Sdn. Bhd. (TDSB) kepada APMM. Kementerian Dalam Negeri
(KDN) juga dibenarkan menamatkan kontrak projek tersebut setelah
mendapat pandangan dan ulasan daripada Jabatan Peguam Negara atas
Sehubungan itu, Kerajaan telah menandatangani perjanjian penamatan
bersama pihak syarikat pada 31 Disember 2024. Melalui perjanjian
penamatan tersebut, pihak syarikat telah dikenakan Liquidated
Ascertained Damages (LAD) sebanyak RM12,491,759.94 di atas
kelewatan menyiapkan kapal OPV 2 dan OPV 3. Selain itu, pihak TDSB
sebelum ini juga telah dikenakan LAD di atas kelewatan penyiapan kapal
OPV 1 yang berjumlah RM5,584,322.59.
Pihak syarikat juga turut dikenakan LAD bagi kelewatan dalam
pembekalan baki 12 unit General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG)
sebanyak RM9,600.00 dan pembekalan Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
bermula 1 Oktober 2024 hingga tarikh penerimaan oleh Kerajaan. Nilai
LAD sehari adalah RM1,200.00. Pihak TDSB selaku kontraktor utama
serta pihak pembuat iaitu Alti Transition menjangkakan proses
pembekalan termasuk konfigurasi, pemasangan dan latihan serta Sea
Acceptance Trial (SAT) akan diselesaikan selewatnya pada 9 Februari
2025.
Speaking to the media today in Putrajaya, Home Minister DS Shaifuddin Nasution stated that the government spent more than RM600 million for the OPV. The contract for the three ships was RM738.9 million.
— Malaysian Defence
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the hell we chose some African made uav anyway?
We all know the current player in small UAV are either China or America (and israel but screw them). Why dont they just choose Acaneagle or CW-25D and be done with it?
Get the OEM and appoint a new builder complete it. Like what LCS.
No more local build, if need also need OEM involvement. Cannot fully localize.
@ michael
since when did we appoint a new builder to complete the LCS?
it is not really a build, just assembly of a puzzle of parts to become a complete ship. All the components of OPV2 and OPV3 is already around, paid for and existing, just need to assemble.
This is also practically the same situation as the GOWIND LCS6. We just need to pay for the assembly cost of all the components that is already around, paid for and existing.
So in nutshell the Home Ministry is suing the Finance Ministry? LOL
But kudos for them issuing the LAD summon. Then again is it possible to seek financial return from a PN17 company?
Anyhow I believe it would need about 50% of the initial budget to get it done. Basically as I said before, the money was enuff just for 2 boats but we tried squeezing a 3rd unit and this is where we are today.
“this is where we are today”
The budget of around USD61million for a 83m 1800ton ship is more than adequate if they did not use the money from the APMM OPV project to backfill all their losses from other contracts.
Koreans could build 113m 3000ton HDP-3000 OPV for the price.
The indians could build a similar OPV (Vikram-class) for just USD30million
https://www.malaysiandefence.com/india-offers-malaysia-ship-building-collaboration/
Amazingly the indonesians manage to build 80m OPV for BAKAMLA for just USD13million each!!!
https://t.co/JRbMIC6WfS
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GXkJeJvbcAA_-ZU.jpg
Imagine for the price of 1 Kedah class OPV, you could buy at least 22 of those indonesian 80m OPVs!!!!
Unfortunately Indonesia choose not to invest in BAKAMLA and buy more of those cheap 80m OPVs but instead buy more expensive OPVs for the Indonesian Navy…
As for the UAV, why the heck are we buying them when we have perfectly brand new squadron of Fulmar UAVs that was meant for BD class but wasnt fitted due to the incident issue? What happen to them?
Pay someone locally to build a supposed easy to build ship and it also cannot be done according to plan @ schedule. Really, what has happened all these years?
Just to put in perspective it’s not that we can’t build large ships locally.
Najib gave the contract to build THHE hoping it could save the company and its parent, Tabung Haji.
It was given to someone that werent experts in the business, OPV just like LCS project was given to BNS so that funding from it could be used to cover debts of previous project. Mana tau this project also overrun leading to more debts compounded on existing debts. Thats why both companies went PN17.
“more than adequate if they did not use the money”
You forgot to consider that doing things locally resulted in lots more wastages and thus needs more money, up to 50% more than doing the same at OEM yard.
Agreed with Joe here, the intention were noble to develop local capabilities for the future but is being beset by incompetent management in handling of fund (memalukan orang melayu je)