15th February 2021 - 23:39 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch RSS
Two new minehunters for Indonesia will be powered by MAN engines and an electric hybrid propulsion system.
Two mine countermeasures vessels (MCMV) for the Indonesian Navy are being constructed in Lemwerder, Germany by the shipbuilder Abeking & Rasmussen.
A $204 million contract for the 62m-long ships was concluded in January 2019, and a steel-cutting ceremony was held on 26 November 2020. Featuring a non-magnetic steel hull, the MCMV design is based on the
Frankenthal class operated by the German Navy.
Once commissioned, they will allow retirement of the navy’s two
Pulau Rengat-class minehunters built in the Netherlands. These entered service in March 1988, so they are already long in the tooth.