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 | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bunga Mas Lima class |
| Operator |  Royal Malaysian Navy |
| Builder | Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering |
| Completed | 2 |
| Decommissioned | 1 |
| In service | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Auxiliary multi-purpose support ship |
| Displacement | 9,000 tonnes |
| Length | 132.80 m (435 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 22.7 m (74 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in) |
| Speed | 17.0 knots (31.5 km/h; 19.6 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 x Fennec AS555 or Super Lynx |
| Aviation facilities |
|
Development
editKA Bunga Mas Lima and KA Bunga Mas Enam were built at Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering in Pasir Gudang, Johor. 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
editKA 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
edit| 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
edit- ^ "9th Ops Fajar of Bunga Mas 5 begins". New Straits Times. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011.
- ^ "MH370: TLDM gerakkan kapal Bunga Mas 6 ke Lautan Hindi". www.astroawani.com.
- ^ "MV Bunga Mas Lima Goes Pirate Hunting - Malaysian Defence". www.malaysiandefence.com.
- ^ "Paskal commandos foil hijack attempt in Gulf of Aden". The MalayMail. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011.
- ^ "Govt to bring M'sian students out of Egypt - Najib". The Star. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 5 February 2011.