Northern Shipyard completes four Nigerian patrol boats in 10 months

LANGKAWI, Dec 21 -- Northern Shipyard Sdn Bhd (Northern Shipyard), a local ship repair and construction company here, made history when it successfully completed four littoral patrol boats 'Manta MKII' for the Nigerian Navy in 10 months.

Northern Shipyard manager, Masmawi Ishak said the firm had been picked by Suncraft Private Limited, a Singapore company and the Nigerian Navy, to be the centre to build the four patrol boats involving a contract worth RM32 million in February (Feb 2020).

He said each patrol boat, costing from RM6 million to RM10 million, was built based on the requested specifications, such as equipment and armaments, and was very suitable for border control assignments, coastal security and rescue activities.

"The Manta MK11 is a 17 metre long and 4.3 metre wide coastal patrol boat using Italy design with two engines with 1,200 horsepower each from Germany that can reach a speed of 50 knots.

"The success of completing the patrol boats on time is something to be very proud of not only for this company but also Malaysia.  

‘’This is because Northern Shipyard hired more than 20 local experts to build the four patrol boats," he told a press conference after the Nigerian Navy Coastal Patrol Boats Launching Ceremony, here, today.

The launching ceremony was officiated by Langkawi District Officer, Saiful Anwar Azmi.

Commenting further, Masmawi said Northern Shipyard believed they were picked to build the patrol boats due to the company’s price, capability and vast experience in carrying out ship repair, maintenance and modification works.

"In addition, the Northern Shipyard located in Langkawi, a duty-free island, provided an advantage in terms of cost because it is easier to bring in the components and this speeded up construction work.

Meanwhile, Northern Shipyard managing director Ooi Cheng Choon said the four coastal patrol boats were expected to be delivered to Apapa Port, Lagos, Nigeria in January next year.

"Delivery to Lagos will be made either through Tanjung Pelepas Port or Port Klang," he said.

-- BERNAMA