Free Republic

Malaysia’s first submarine, the Scorpene-class KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, successfully underwent underwater trials in the South China Sea yesterday. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a technical team was aboard during the submarine’s dive to monitor its progress under water. “The dive was successfully completed by 4pm. Everything was pronounced to be okay,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said in an SMS. The trials were carried out at the Royal Malaysian Navy base in Teluk Sepanggar, Sabah. It was earlier reported that the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman was unable to dive after a mechanical defect was discovered by engineers....

Last week, the Malaysian submarine programme, which received much attention during the past months, suffered a temporary setback as Malaysian Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had to announce that the country’s first Scorpene-class submarine, delivered in September 2009, was unfit for diving. Originally scheduled for tropical water trials, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, a diesel-electric attack submarine named after the country's first Prime Minister, was forced to remain on the wharf longer than expected. According to the Minister, “the defects are still covered by warranty, so the supplier and contractor are repairing them.” Since then, the technical problem has been repaired...