PT PAL Likely To Build Mutirole Ship With Boustead For Malaysian Navy

Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) to build multirole support ship (MRSS) for Royal Malaysian Navy.

The MOU was signed on 2 November at the Indo Defence 2016 exhibition in Jakarta, provides opportunity to work on its first project for a Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) vessel, if the contract is awarded to BNS, IHS Jane's 360 reported Wednesday.

The agreement as a historic moment between the two countries, which were not known to have collaborated on any major naval platforms prior to the possible MRSS project Managing Director of BNS, Ahmad Ramli Moh Nor who signed the MOU on behalf of the Malaysian company told to IHS Jane's on 2 November at Indo Defence

According to specifications provided by PT PAL, its basic design for the landing platform dock (LPD)-like MRSS features an overall length of about 150 m, an overall beam of about 24 m, and a draught of 6 m. The platform has been designed with a top speed of about 18 kt, a cruising speed of about 15 kt, and an endurance of about 30 days.

The ship can be armed with a 76 mm naval gun, and a number of 12.7 mm machine gun positions.

However, the talks with the RMN and BNS are still ongoing, and a final configuration based on the service's requirements will only be available at a later date, said official from PT.

One of the RMN's requirements is that the ship must be able to accommodate two helicopters on the flight deck, in addition to two helicopters in the hangar. In other words, platform length must be extended to about 163 m.