Bunga Mas Lima-class auxiliary ship

The Bunga Mas Lima class is a class of auxiliary ships in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). The class comprises two ships: KA Bunga Mas Lima and KA Bunga Mas Enam. Each ship has a length of 132 metres (433 ft 1 in) and displaces about 9,000 tonnes (8,900 long tons).

Bunga Mas Lima-class auxiliary ship scale model in display
History
NameBunga Mas Lima class
Operator Royal Malaysian Navy
BuilderMalaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering
Completed2
Decommissioned1
In service1
General characteristics
TypeAuxiliary multi-purpose support ship
Displacement9,000 tonnes
Length132.80 m (435 ft 8 in)
Beam22.7 m (74 ft 6 in)
Draught7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Speed17.0 knots (31.5 km/h; 19.6 mph)
Capacity
  • Heavy Fuel Oil Tank (used for cruising) - 540 tonnes
  • Marine Diesel Oil Tank (used for generator) - 50 tonnes
  • Cylinder Oil Tank - 11,000 L
  • Fresh Water Tank - 980 tonnes
Armament
Aircraft carried1 x Fennec AS555 or Super Lynx
Aviation facilities
  • Hangar
  • Helicopter landing platform

Development

KA Bunga Mas Lima and KA Bunga Mas Enam were built at Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering in Pasir Gudang, Johore. Both ships were purchased by RMN to escort and protect Malaysian freighter ships in international waters. They are also used to patrol and control securities in Sabah waters to enforce the ESSZONE task in Sabah.[1][2][3]

Service history

KA Bunga Mas Lima was involved in Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden in 2011, where RMN commando PASKAL was tasked to rescue the hijacked ship MV Bunga Laurel.[4]

In the same year, KA Bunga Mas Lima together with a C-130 from Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) was tasked to ferry 500 Malaysian students out of Egypt during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[5]

Ships of the class
Pennant Name Builders Launched Commissioned Division/Squadron Notes
BM5 KA Bunga Mas Lima Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering 1996 1 June 2009 Launched as TEU container vessel by MISC in 1996 and commissioned as auxiliary vessel by RMN in 2009.
BM6 KA Bunga Mas Enam Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering 1997 9 August 2011 Launched as TEU container vessel by MISC in 1997 and commissioned as auxiliary vessel by RMN in 2011. Retired in 2023.

References
  1. "9th Ops Fajar of Bunga Mas 5 begins". New Straits Times. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011.
  2. "MH370: TLDM gerakkan kapal Bunga Mas 6 ke Lautan Hindi". www.astroawani.com.
  3. "MV Bunga Mas Lima Goes Pirate Hunting - Malaysian Defence". www.malaysiandefence.com.
  4. "Paskal commandos foil hijack attempt in Gulf of Aden". The MalayMail. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011.
  5. "Govt to bring M'sian students out of Egypt - Najib". The Star. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 5 February 2011.
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