The Malaysian ministry of defense has selected Boustead Naval Shipyard to work on the delivery of four littoral mission ships that are to be built by China.
According to a letter of acceptance from March 17, Boustead Naval Shipyard will work with a partner shipyard from China on the delivery of the ships.
The company said the deal was worth RM1.17 billion (approx. US$265 million).
Littoral Mission Ships will be designed in China with first two vessels to be built and delivered in China in 2019 and 2020. The remaining two vessels will be built and delivered in Malaysia in 2021.
The deal is part of the Malaysian Navy’s transformation plan that intends to bring down the number of ship classes operated by the navy from 15 to 5. Many of the current classes are now obsolete and present an expensive upkeeping challenge.
The consolidated classes are envisioned as consisting of the Chinese littoral mission ships, new-generation patrol vessels, multi-role support ship, littoral combat ships and submarines.