Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs officially signed a contract with Desan Shipyard for the construction of a second Multi Purpose Mission Ship for Malaysia’s coast guard on the sidelines of the 2026 Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.
The $83.75 million contract was signed by Ministry of Home Affairs Secretary General Datuk Awang Alik Bin Jeman and Desan Shipyard’s Chairman of the Board Cenk İsmail Kaptanoğlu on April 21, with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Bin Ismail witnessing the signing.
A letter of acceptance for the construction of the Multi Purpose Mission Ship was signed in January, with Desan announcing on 11 February that it had cut steel for the ship. In a statement, the Coast Guard said the contract covered a period between 1 February and 31 January 2028, with the Multi Purpose Mission Ship expected to be delivered by the end of December 2027.
The Multi Purpose Mission Ship is of identical design to the first Multi Purpose Mission Ship ordered from Desan in February 2025. The 99-meter ship will have a crew of 70 with room for an additional 30 passengers. It will have an at-sea endurance of up to 30 days, and will be equipped with four fast interceptor craft, and two unmanned aerial vehicles in addition to a helicopter deck, medical facilities and a detention facility on board.
According to the Malaysian coast guard, the increased cost of the second Multi Purpose Mission Ship is due to a combination of inflation, increased labor costs, and improved systems added to the ship.
A Desan Shipyard representative at DSA 2026 told Naval News that one of the improvements was the inclusion of unmanned surface vehicles with the second Multi Purpose Mission Ship. The representative said the unmanned surface vehicle to be supplied would be manufactured by Aselsan. An Aselsan representative confirmed that the company planned to supply a variant of its Marlin series of USVs jointly developed with Malaysian firm Navamas for the Multi Purpose Mission Ship, but declined to provide further details.
Also during the exhibition, the Malaccan state government announced that it had broken ground on a shipyard that Desan will develop as part of a joint venture. The groundbreaking ceremony of the Enrique of Malacca Shipyard on April 21 was attended by Desan Chairman of the Board Cenk İsmail Kaptanoğlu and board member Hasan Ozgur Cilli, alongside Chief Minister of Malacca Ab Rauf Yusoh and other state government officials. According to the state government, the shipyard is planned to be completed within two years of the groundbreaking ceremony.
