Brunei Warships to Go on Sale

26 Juni 2007

KDB Jerambak (photo : Naval)

Construction was completed at BAE Systems in ScotstounThree warships built at BAE shipyard in Glasgow for the Royal Brunei Navy are finally to be sold after a long-running legal dispute was resolved.

A £600m deal between BAE Systems and Brunei was signed in 1998, resulting in the completion of three coastal patrol frigates by 2004.

KDB Bendhara Sakam (photo : Naval)

However the Sultan of Brunei claimed the ships were not as he had ordered, and they remained berthed in Scotstoun.

The arbitration dispute ended in May, allowing the ships to be sold on.
Following finalisation of contracts, the ships were able to be handed over to the Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS), which is the Brunei's equivalent of the Ministry of Defence.

A spokesman for BAE Systems said that the shipbuilders had been paid for the completion of the ships, and that the ships had now been handed over to RBTS.
He declined to comment on any alleged problems with the specification of the ships or on the company's relationship with Brunei.

KDB Nakhoda Ragam (photo : Naval)

A German company, Lurssen, is said to be acting as an agent for Brunei for the sale of the three vessels.

The ships, the KDB Nakhoda Ragam, KDB Bendhara Sakam and KDB Jerambak, were originally destined for the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) squadron of the Royal Brunei Navy.

(BBC)