do DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2007 – 161
Brunei navy ships to be sold
Three Offshore Patrol Vessels based on a frigate design that have been laid up on the Clyde at Scotstoun ever since
they were completed in 2004 are now to be sold by Brunei. The three navy ships were ordered by the Royal Brunei
Navy to very exacting standards and were locally termed "the Sultan's boats". BAE SYSTEMS, the ships' builders
maintain they had met the specifications required but Brunei insisted the ships were below par.
However around Clydeside rumours were rife about the true state of affairs with many saying the simple truth was
that Brunei simply did not have the trained personnel to handle the very advanced systems on the ships. It now
transpires those rumours may indeed have been correct.
The Glasgow-based Herald newspaper reports that BAE confirmed that they have reached an agreement to hand over
the ships to Royal Brunei Technical Services, describing it as 'amicable'. This follows a period where Brunei withheld
the final payments for the ships whilst going to arbitration over the matter.
The paper quotes 'a naval insider' who says that Brunei had to save face with regards to their inability to crew the
vessels, saying they were used to vessels that were 20 years old and did not have the level of sophistication that the
three OPVs built at Scotstoun had.
The newspaper also says it understand that Brunei has approached a German firm to handle the sale of the vessels.
Facts about the three OPV's
Names: KDB NAKHODA RAGAM, KDB BENDAHARA SAKAM, KDB JERAMBAK
Tonnage: 1940 disp, Length: 314 feet, Breadth: 39 feet, Propulsion: 4 x MAN diesel: Speed: 30kn
Launch dates:
KDB NAKHODA RAGAM: Saturday, 13 January 2001
KDB BENDAHARA SAKAM: Saturday, 23 June 2001
KDB JERAMBAK: Saturday, 22 June 2002