AFR: 10 ASEAN Warships Captivate Crowd At SPCT

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- Penang’s Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) today once again made history by hosting the ASEAN Fleet Review (AFR) 2025 parade, which involved 10 warships.

The traditional naval event was held in conjunction with the 19th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting (ANCM), bringing together three warships from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and seven from the navies of other ASEAN member nations.

The first group of five ships began the parade in a straight-line formation led by the RMN vessel KD Lekiu, which was built in Scotland and commissioned on Oct 9, 1999.

The Lumut-based ship was manned by 164 officers and crew under the command of Captain Mahamad Nazir Darus.

Following behind were KBD Darulaman from Brunei, KRI Bung Tomo (Indonesia), UMS King Sin Phyu Shin (Myanmar) and BRP Antonio Luna (the Philippines).

The second group of five ships followed, led by the RMN vessel KD Lekir, along with the Singapore Navy’s RSS Vigour, HTMS Krabi (Thailand), VPNS Quang Trang (Chung) from Vietnam, and ending with KD Kedah.

After the ship parade, guests were treated to a ceremonial fly-past involving four RMN aircraft — an AW139, a Super Lynx Mk 100 and two AS555 Fennec helicopters.

The 50-minute spectacle proved to be a bonus for people in Penang as it could be viewed from areas near the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) and the historic Esplanade.

A Bernama survey at the Esplanade found that the public, including foreign tourists, seized the rare opportunity to watch the ASEAN naval assets parade, with many also taking photos with the warships in the background.

Meanwhile, ANCM Working Committee deputy chairman Rear Admiral Datuk Pahlawan Mohd Fadzli Kamal Mohd Mohaldin said the AFR was the highlight of the week-long series of the largest maritime military events in Penang.

“All RMN and ASEAN vessels sailed in formation in the North Channel, which could be viewed by all Penang residents from both Butterworth and George Town,” he said.

The event was officiated by Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Ramli Ngah Talib, who also received the salute from each ship.

It was attended by ASEAN navy chiefs, Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail and the state director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Maritime Captain Muhammad Suffi Mohd Ramli.

Penang is serving as the main stage for the region’s largest maritime military event, hosted by the RMN from Aug 15 until tomorrow, featuring three main programmes under Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship.

The AFR is among the events held alongside the 19th ANCM and the 3rd ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise (AMNEX), which took place around George Town and Batu Ferringhi.

Also held were the Naval Engineering Conference (NEC) and the ASEAN Navies’ City Parade (ANCP), reminiscent of the International Royal Fleet Review (IRFR) in May 1990, which involved 59 warships and 11,000 naval personnel from various countries.

-- BERNAMA