KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has taken delivery of its third Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) at a brief ceremony at the Baiyue International Hotel in Qidong, China today nearly two years after its construction.

The RMN said in a statement today that the ship had successfully undergone a series of tests during the docking phase and at sea.

"The ceremony was officiated by Defence Attache of the Malaysian Embassy in China, First Admiral Zahid Abd Aziz on behalf of the Malaysian government in signing the physical handing-over certificate.

"The construction of the third LMS began on September 18, 2019 and was launched on the surface of Wuhan waters on October 28, 2020 by the RMN LMS project team,” the statement added.

The RMN also said that the committee receiving the third LMS, comprising three government representatives, had conducted documentation and physical checks and followed the ship’s capability demonstration voyage.

The LMS is among five classes of ships listed in the RMN’s "15to5” Armada Transformation Programme and the contract to acquire four LMS was signed between the Defence Ministry and Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd on March 23, 2017, with the cooperation of China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co Ltd.

It is the first procurement project for capital defence assets from China and the fourth LMS is expected to be handed over this December.  — Bernama