However, he lauded the successful 62-day mission of the 40-year-old corvette KD Lekir in a major Pacific Rim naval exercise as a showcase of the navy’s ability to keep the fleet active.

Lekir’s participation in the Rimpac exercise off Hawaii had proven the navy’s resilience and readiness, said Vice Admiral Abu Bakar Md Ajis, commander of the Western Fleet.

During the Rimpac exercise, Lekir had successfully fired a live Exocet missile for the first time outside Malaysian waters and sank an old US navy guided missile frigate in the open ocean off Hawaii.

Speaking at a ceremony in Lumut to welcome home the corvette, Abu Bakar said Lekir’s success proved the readiness of the navy’s fleet through a service life extension programme that began in 2009 to keep the ship in service until 2030.

He said 75% of the navy’s 44 ships were over 40 or 50 years old. “Our patrol ships operating from Kuantan are more than 50 years old. In other words our vessels are over the hill,” he told Utusan Malaysia yesterday.

“This ship (KD Lekir) is already 40 years old, yet it could still navigate the open sea for 62 days over half the circumference of the world during the exercise,” he said.

Lekir was at sea for 24 days during the sea phase of the exercise without suffering any damage or major problems, he said.

Abu Bakar said constant maintenance was necessary for these “aged” vessels as they were operating for long hours.

He said the navy was forced to resort to such measures as it had yet to receive new vessels such as six frigates being built in the littoral combat ship (LCS) project, and offshore patrol ships in the littoral mission project.

Last month a parliamentary committee said RM6 billion had been spent so far on the LCS project, but none of the frigates had yet been delivered.

The navy has called for action to be taken against those responsible for the mess created in the LCS project.

The Rimpac exercise from June 29 to Aug 4 involved 38 ships, four submarines and more than 170 aircraft belonging to 26 countries.