The German Naval Group is a consortium of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

industrial companies that bid and won a major contract to design and build the New Generation Patrol vessels (NGPV) for the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defence operations. RMN's area of operation consists of 603,2 ...

Background

German Naval Group supplies a range of naval vessels to customers worldwide. For the Royal Malaysian Navy bid, the German Naval Group proposed the

Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...

MEKO The MEKO family of warships was developed by the German company Blohm+Voss. MEKO is a registered trademark. The portmanteau stands for "''Mehrzweck-Kombination''" (English: multi-purpose-combination). It is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding ...

100 for the design and delivery a new class of offshore

patrol vessels A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

for the Royal Malaysian Navy. Under the German Naval Group proposal, the first batch of ships will be built in German

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s while the remainder of the order will be fulfilled by ships built in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n shipyards. The group consists of the German

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

: * Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG,

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

* Blohm + Voss GmbH,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

* Nordsee Werke GmbH,

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

The German Naval Group commercial partner includes

MAN Ferrostaal Ferrostaal is a Germany, German-owned industrial services company. It has 4,400 employees and an annual turnover of around 1.6 billion euros (2008), and has a market presence in around 40 countries. The company's activities are focused in two area ...

that supplies marine diesels. The consortium grouping enables the group to offer a complete range of naval vessels and services to customers.

Royal Malaysian Navy requirement

The

requirement was a substantial purchase and attracted many bids from interested shipbuilders.

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

shipbuilders have traditionally not done well in

and were ruled out early on.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

’s Transfield group was a strong contender for the project, as the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

was also then looking into the building of a class of patrol vessels. Australian political leadership lent weight to the Australian proposal, with the message of the benefits of a regional collaborative effort in building the common design.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

shipyards have done well in previous bids and remained a front runner.

Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor. The plan ...

have previously supplied Malaysia with its two FFL

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

. The German Naval Group (GNG) won the bid to build the NGPV for the Royal Malaysian Navy and was awarded the initial contract 13 October 1998 for an initial six units based on the

100 design. The German Naval Group is the major sub-contractor on the NGPV programme, and

-based Blohm & Voss will build the first two ships deliver them to Malaysia for final

fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

and trials. The class of ship has now been called the Kedah Class Offshore Patrol Vessel. The other four ships are to be built at the

PSC-Naval Dockyard Penang Shipbuilding and Construction - Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd (PSC-ND), was a division of the Penang Shipbuilding and Construction Industries Bhd (PCSI), a Malaysian shipbuilding company based in Lumut, Perak, Malaysia. The company's primary role ...

in Malaysia from ship sets supplied by the German Naval Group. PSC-Naval Dockyard in Lumut, Malaysia, is the prime contractor for all six of the Malaysian ships. The order for six ships is the first group in a series of a planned purchase of 27 vessels. The Malaysian government was to pay 20% advance payment of the total RM5.6 billion. The advance came to RM1.07 billion. Of this, RM243 million was paid to PSC-Naval Dockyard with the balance of RM928 million still payable to the company. The Royal Malaysian Navy had intended the building of 27 OPVs under the program. The initial order of six vessels with PSC-Naval Dockyard (and the German Naval Group) will involve

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

from the German Naval Group to PSC-Naval Dockyard. The contract would include the supply of spare parts for the first two years, after which the spare parts will be manufactured in Malaysia by PSC Naval Dockyard. The contract also specified a local content of not less than 30 percent, and an offset program of not less than 30% of the contract value. The German Naval Group is also to make a counter purchase obligation amounting to 11% of the contract value. The German Naval Group has now been formally merged under the

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...

companies. Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG was purchased in 2005 to complete the triumvirate of

HDW Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel i ...

, NDW and Blohm + Voss in ThyssenKrupp Marine.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Naval Shipbuilding at Blohm + Voss

Military of Malaysia