AG's Report: Navy fails to procure, maintain ships on schedule

The Auditor-General’s Report 2/2024 has revealed that the Royal Malaysian Navy has failed to procure new ships as planned and to maintain existing vessels on schedule, resulting in some ships exceeding their operational lifespan due to high-tempo maritime operations.

According to the report, the navy was supposed to procure 10 Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) under the 11th and 12th Malaysia Plans (11MP and 12MP) but only four LMS have been procured and received as of Dec 31, 2022.

“The performance of the navy in ship procurement and taking delivery under the 11MP and 12MP as of Dec 31, 2022, was below target. RMN aimed to procure 18 ships but only four were received.

“Additionally, the navy was supposed to receive two Multi-Role Support Ships (MRSS) under the 12MP but the procurement will only be carried out under the 13MP due to budget constraints. This situation has resulted in the navy continuing to use ships beyond their intended lifespan,” stated the report presented in Parliament today.

Therefore, the report recommends that the Defence Ministry and the navy ensure that the Royal Malaysian Navy Transformation Programme under the 12MP and beyond is implemented as scheduled to achieve the target fleet holdings by the year 2050 and that the navy’s preparedness remains optimal.

Meanwhile, an audit of maintenance expenditure reports for all ships found that the navy’s Engineering Division headquarters received an allocation of RM1,091.63 million for ship maintenance from 2020 to 2022 but only RM912.74 million was spent.

“In 2020, RM76.09 million of the RM406.15 million allocation remained unspent, while in 2022, RM102.80 million of the allocated RM345 million was not utilised due to delays in maintenance work by appointed contractors not adhering to the contract schedule,” the report stated.

The report recommended that the navy ensure ship maintenance is carried out according to schedule with adequate financial resources to maintain operational readiness.

Meanwhile, the audit also found unused spare parts worth RM384.49 million at the West Fleet Supply Depot (DBAB) and East Fleet Supply Depot (DBAT).

“DBAB has 1.62 million units of unutilised spare parts worth RM381.69 million, with the last withdrawal record dated between 1969 and 2017, while DBAT has 6,040 types of unused spare parts worth RM2.8 million, with the last withdrawal record dated between 2017 and 2021,” the report added.

The report recommended that the navy develop an unutilised spare parts inventory to ensure these spare parts are effectively used to avoid wastage.

- Bernama

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