KOTA KINABALU (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has made history by churning out 22 expert and skilled manpower, including a qualified officer, who are locally trained to handle its two Scorpene submarines.
The pioneering manpower of the submarine comprised 15 crewmen with basic skills, who obtained the Submarine Qualification Certificate (SKKS) while seven of the officers and personnel were upgraded to expert level.
RMN chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said they were trained using the expertise of local trainers and training facilities, other than teaching manpower from NAVCO (company which develops education training at Submarine Force Base from France) for three years, ending 2015.
"I am happy and proud they have been picked to become the first batch to be trained in the country, and generally, they are highly determined to shoulder the task of ensuring the continuity of the RMN submarine service," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after the completion of a ceremony on the wearing of the Submarine Expertise Insignia and awarding of the SKKS, in conjunction with the RMN Submarine Force Base Management Audit parade at the KD Sri Kinabalu parade ground, Kota Kinabalu RMN Base, Sepanggar near here Thursday.
Abdul Aziz said Level 1 SKKS was required for an RMN officer and personnel to man a submarine, according to their respective levels of expertise while Level 2 involved supervisor, Level 3, head of department and Level 4, commanding officer.
He said competency tests were also carried out on a schedular basis to ensure the level of knowledge and competency of the crewman of a submarine was at optimum level.
"To become a submariner, a trainee will undergo the Submarine Science Application Course (SSAC) at KD Pelandok for four months to revise subjects such as Science, Mathematics, Engineering and English in preparation to attend the Submarine Specialisation Course (KKKS).
"After passing SSAC, the trainee would attend KKKS at the Submarine Training Centre (PLKS) between 18 to 24 months encompassing the module Submarine Foundation Training and Scorpene Specific Training modules and on the job training on submarines," he said.
According to Abdul Aziz, PLKS at the RMN base here was equipped with a training simulator and was the first training centre in the world to provide training in handling the Scorpene submarine since April 2011.
"Prior to this, we used training expertise from Germany, France, Australia, Pakistan and Sweden. Also, we still have two technical and operations advisers from the French Navy," he said.
In the meantime, RMN will continue to train more experts and skilled personnel to handle the submarine as it requires at least a crew of 31 and a commanding officer to operate a submarine.
The Kota Kinabalu RMN Base currently houses two French-made Scorpene submarines costing RM7.3 billion.
They are the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Razak.
Each submarine is 67.56 metres long, 6.2 metres wide, has a crew of 32 and capable of operating for 45 days submerged.
(Bernama)
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