Malaysia’s Home Ministry has officially signed an order for a second Multi-Purpose Mission Ship for Malaysia’s coast guard from Türkiye’s Desan Shipyard, with a letter of acceptance signed on January 7.
Albert Lee story, additional reporting by Tayfun Ozberk
The exchange of documents took place during an official visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to Türkiye, with the exchange of documents between representatives of the Home Ministry and Desan witnessed by Anwar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Istanbul. In a press release announcing the contract, Malaysia’s coast guard said the contract was worth $83.75 million, with work on the ship to be completed in 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.
The newly ordered Multi Purpose Mission Ship will additionally be equipped with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and a unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). This is the first export sale of an unmanned surface vehicle from the shipyard.
According to a LinkedIn post by DESAN Shipyard’s Business Development Manager, Mr. Mahmut Karagöz, in addition to the first vessel, DESAN will construct an unmanned/autonomous surface vehicle as part of the project. The announcement of the USV was unexpected, as it had not been previously disclosed, and it would represent the company’s first publicly known USV project. DESAN did not respond to Naval News’ inquiry regarding the USV at the time of publication.
Although the company did not provide details, Naval News understands the UAV visible in the imagery appears to be an exact match for the HAVELSAN-developed BOZBEY unmanned aerial vehicle. BOZBEY is designed for low-altitude operations and is described by HAVELSAN as a “sub-cloud UAV.” BOZBEY is a fixed-wing, sub-cloud autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle developed to meet the operational requirements of modern military units. It is capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and can conduct fully autonomous missions without the need for a runway.
BOZBEY has a maximum take-off weight of approximately 40 kg, including payload, and features a fixed-wing configuration with a 4-metre wingspan and a 2-metre fuselage length. The UAV can carry payloads of up to 3 kg and is powered by a gasoline engine, providing an endurance of up to six hours. It cruises at speeds between 43 and 46 knots (around 80–85 km/h) and operates at typical altitudes of up to 8,000 ft, with a service ceiling of approximately 11,000 ft.
Following the contract signing, a delegation from the Malaysian Home Ministry visited Desan’s Istanbul shipyard on January 9, inspecting the first Multi Purpose Mission Ship currently under construction there after receiving a briefing from Desan on its progress. The first Multi Purpose Mission Ship officially began construction with its steel cutting ceremony in July 2025, with Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Director General, Admiral (Maritime) Datuk Haji Mohd Rosli bin Abdullah saying earlier on January 9 that construction on the first ship is now 58.3% complete, ahead of schedule for its delivery in 2027.
Also announced during the visit was Desan Shipyard’s entrance into a finalized agreement creating a joint venture to build a new shipyard in the Malaysian state of Malacca. Desan will be working alongside Straits of Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone (SM-WEZ) Corporation and Henry the Black Shipyard Sdn Bhd to build the Enrique of Malacca shipyard, with the 9.42 hectares shipyard to be built on land reclaimed in the Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone project.
The RM 1.8 billion shipyard is planned to be completed and operational in 2028, and is expected to serve as a maritime tourism attraction in addition to offering shipbuilding and repair services, fabrication, and other marine services. The agreement marks DESAN Shipyard’s first overseas investment and aims to support new shipbuilding, maintenance, repair, and modernisation projects through knowledge and technology transfer, as well as mutual capacity building.
