The vessel, which has been named Sundang, is the second of four LMSs under a contract signed between Putrajaya and the China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co Ltd in 2017.

In a statement, the navy’s strategic communications branch said the ship will sail to Malaysia in the third week of this month and will be commissioned at the navy’s Kota Kinabalu base on a later date.

“A committee of three government representatives, led by Abdul Hadi Tan Abdullah, the head of the navy’s LMS project, has checked the vessel’s documents, physical tests and went on a demonstration of its abilities,” it said.

“Sundang has successfully passed several tests in port and on the sea before being handed over to the government.”

The construction of the Sundang began on Oct 23, 2018, in Wuhan, China, and the vessel was launched on July 12, 2019. Putrajaya was scheduled to receive the vessel on April 12 last year, but construction work was postponed until January due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The project was reactivated on May 18, 2020 and designated crew members of Sundang were sent to Qidong, Shanghai, on Oct 16 to resume work on the ship.

The remaining two vessels will be handed over in September and November this year.