PT PAL in talks with UAE for variant of multirole support ship

Indonesia is in talks with the UAE for a 163 m version of its LPD, one of which is seen here during a sail-pass in Surabaya. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)

Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has offered a variant of its 163 m landing platform dock (LPD)-like multirole support ship (MRSS) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy.

The offer has been made in response to requests for information (RFIs) from the Emirati Ministry of Defence.

The variant being offered is largely similar to the concept developed as a proposal for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), but with customised features as requested by the UAE Navy, said the company in response to questions from Janes .

The requested customisations include flexible payload bays for modular mission systems and automated launch-and-recovery systems (LARS) for rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and landing craft. The vessel can also be converted quickly into a floating hospital that can be deployed for humanitarian missions, the company added.

The 163 m MRSS was originally developed as part of PT PAL’s commitment to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Malaysian shipbuilder Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) at the Indo Defence 2016 exhibition in Jakarta.

It is derived from the 122–125 m multirole vessels that are in service with the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL), which are in turn based on a design from South Korean company Dae Sun Shipbuilders.