SHAH ALAM: OPV1 has started its patrol in Sarawak waters which will boost the Malaysian maritime zone security, Home Ministry Secretary-General Ruji Ubi said on January 18. Ruji said the ship will be a deterrent against illegal fishermen as well as to reduce the risk of robberies against oil exploration companies as it had the endurance of 21 days.
He said the ship will also patrol the waters off Beting Patinggi Ali which is part of the Malaysian EEZ. There was no mention of China which coast guard has sent ships to patrol the waters off Beting Patinggi Ali, the year round. China sent ships to the Malaysian EEZ to mark its claim on the waters as part of its Ten Dash Line. The line encompassed the South China Sea off the Sabah and Sarawak up to the 12 nautical miles of the Malaysian border.
Ruji was speaking to reporters after visiting the ship off Kuching waters. OPV1 arrived in Kuching on January 17 after a two-day voyage from the RMN Hydrographic centre where she had been based since her official delivery. MMEA took Sarawak reporters to sea with OPV1 for the press conference with the Home Ministry secretary-general and delegation arriving onboard an MMEA AW139 helicopter.
Asked on the status of OPV2 and OPV3, Ruji said the matter will be raised to the Cabinet. He also said the naming ceremony for OPV1 is expected soon with DS Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the guest of honour.
OPV1 status on the AIS remained KM Tun Fatimah. The release by MMEA:
𝗞𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗣𝗩𝟭 𝗠𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗜 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗞
𝗞𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚, 𝟭𝟴 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗶 – Selepas diserahkan kepada Maritim Malaysia pada 2 Januari lalu, Kapal Peronda Luar Pesisir Pertama (OPV 1) secara rasmi memulakan operasi pertamanya dengan melakukan pemantauan di kawasan perairan Sarawak.
Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN), Datuk Haji Ruji bin Haji Ubi memaklumkan, operasi sulung Kapal OPV 1 ini dijangka akan memperkukuhkan keselamatan Zon Maritim Malaysia (ZMM) khususnya di kawasan Laut China Selatan yang menjadi tumpuan aktiviti ekonomi dan laluan kapal-kapal dagang yang menghubungkan dari bahagian selatan ke bahagian utara laut berkenaan.
Jelasnya, keberadaan Kapal OPV1 ini mampu memenuhi matlamat operasi penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia iaitu konsep ‘deterrent’ bagi mengekang pencerobohan kapal-kapal asing.
Kapal OPV 1 akan menjadi kapal induk kepada bot-bot peronda Maritim Malaysia yang akan melakukan rondaan penguatkuasaan di kawasan yang menjadi tumpuan nelayan asing menceroboh masuk ke laut negara bagi melakukan aktiviti penangkapan ikan.
Ujar beliau lagi, kehadiran Kapal OPV 1 juga bertujuan untuk mengurangkan risiko syarikat carigali dan petroleum menjadi sasaran kes rompakan di laut memandangkan kapal berkenaan berkeupayaan untuk melakukan operasi di laut dalam jangka masa 21 hari tanpa ulang bekal.
Beliau berkata demikian selepas melakukan lawatan dan tinjauan pengoperasian kapal berkenaan di sini hari ini.
Turut hadir sama Ketua Pengarah Maritim Malaysia, Laksamana Maritim Datuk Hamid bin Mohd Amin dan Pengarah Maritim Negeri Sarawak, Laksamana Pertama Maritim Zin Azman bin Md Yunus.
Selain Kapal OPV 1, Maritim Malaysia turut bakal melaksanakan perolehan bagi 10 buah aset strategik maritim seperti yang telah diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam pembentangan Belanjawan 2024.
Mengulas lanjut berkaitan status Kapal OPV 2 dan OPV 3, Datuk Haji Ruji memaklumkan bahawa perkara berkenaan akan diangkat ke peringkat Kabinet.
Beliau terdahulu memaklumkan, Majlis Penamaan OPV 1 ini dijadualkan akan disempurnakan oleh isteri Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dalam masa yang terdekat.
–Malaysian Defence
If they are this secretive about what to call the ship, betcha it might be a politically slanted name.
countering China Coast Guard for malaysia should be primarily by APMM, secondary by TLDM.
Of the 10 new assets for APMM, most of it would be a second batch of NGPC. What can be done is to have the new NGPCs to have an operational endurance of 21 days similar to OPV1, as an option if we don’t have OPVs available at a specific time and place.
As i proposed before, the management of the NGPC Batch 2 build could be passed to PETRONAS and inserted into their existing Project Safina, to ensure the built to be on spec, on budget and on time.