To the depths: The ‘KD Pendekar’ seen partially submerged at two nautical miles southeast of the Tanjung Penyusop cape near Pengerang, Johor. The ship later completely sank. — Photo sourced from social media
PETALING JAYA: The Royal Malaysian Navy vessel KD Pendekar has completely sunk off the coast of Johor after experiencing “severe flooding” due to a leak.
The KD Pendekar sank two nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusop at 3.54pm yesterday, said the Navy.
“Efforts to salvage the ship are still underway,” it said in a statement.
Earlier, the Navy said the leak, believed to have been caused by a collision with an underwater object, was first detected in the engine room.
Despite the crew’s best efforts to control and stabilise the vessel, the situation rapidly deteriorated, making it unmanageable in the incident that happened around noon yesterday.
The ship had been on an operational assignment.
The KD Pendekar is a Handalan-class fast attack craft launched on Nov 11, 1978, and commissioned into the fleet on July 27, 1979.
It is one of four ships in the class built by Sweden’s Kalskrona Varvet shipyard.
Measuring 43.6m in length, these vessels are armed with a Bofors 57mm main gun and a Bofors 40mm secondary gun, as well as Exocet anti-ship missiles.
The KD Pendekar has a complement of 40 crew members and is currently listed as under the command of Lt-Kdr Muhammad Izzat Emir Md Rahim.
The Navy also commended the swift action of the maritime community for the successful rescue of all 39 crew members before the ship was fully submerged.
“No injuries have been reported. The crew is currently safe and has been placed at KD Sultan Ismail, Tanjung Pengelih.
“Navy assets have been deployed at the incident site to monitor the current situation and environmental safety,” it said.
In light of the incident, the Navy has announced the immediate formation of a special investigation board to determine the cause of the leak.
The Navy also extended its thanks to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the police, and the local maritime community for their swift response and support during the incident.
It advised the public to refrain from speculating about the incident and to rely on official Navy sources for accurate and current information.
