Malaysia's LCS 1 conducts sea trial, says LUNAS

Malaysia's first-of-class Maharaja Lela frigate, seen here during what LUNAS said on 29 April was its maiden sea trial. (LUNAS)

Malaysia's Lumut Naval Shipyard (LUNAS) said on 29 April that the country's first Maharaja Lela-class littoral combat ship (LCS 1) had conducted what it described as the vessel's first sea trial.

In a social media post, LUNAS said LCS 1 conducted the trial on 28 April as part of its performance validation and readiness assessment programme, ahead of sea acceptance trials with Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

“The trial marks an important step in evaluating her systems and operational capabilities under real sea conditions,” LUNAS said.

The shipyard's description of the activity as the ship's first sea trial appears to contrast with an earlier statement by Malaysia's Minister of Defence Mohamed Khaled Nordin. He told parliament in January 2026 that the vessel had begun its harbour trials on 20 January and its sea trials on 28 January.

Open-source vessel-tracking data indicate that the sea trial on 28 April involved LCS 1 operating more extensively in waters around Pangkor Island. This is consistent with a more substantive open-water sea trial, rather than dockside or basin-based tests.

By contrast, the January 2026 activity – while referred to in parliamentary statements as sea trials – appears to have consisted largely of harbour trials and tightly controlled initial engineering runs. A significant portion of those activities involved the vessel being push-towed by tugboats, based on details visible in vessel-tracking data.

As such, the April 2026 trial is likely to represent a more formalised, builder-led sea-trial phase ahead of RMN-controlled acceptance testing.