SANDAKAN: Two navy vessels with over 50 years of service have been redeployed from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan to bolster maritime security and surveillance off Sabah's east coast.
The fast patrol craft, KD Ganas and KD Serang, were officially handed over at the Sandakan Naval Base jetty on Wednesday (Oct 7), shifting from the Eastern Fleet Command in Sepanggar to Naval Region 2 Headquarters (Mawilla 2).
According to a navy statement issued Thursday (Oct 8), the move aims to maintain seamless patrol duties in Mawilla 2's area of responsibility following the recent decommissioning of KD Pari.
“The transfer reflects the navy’s continued efforts to balance operational readiness with fleet modernisation, while strengthening its presence and capabilities in Sabah’s strategic waters,” the navy said.
Despite their age, both 234-tonne vessels, measuring 47 metres long and 7 metres wide, have undergone life-extension overhauls.
KD Ganas, originally assigned to the First Fast Attack Craft (Missile) Squadron before moving to the Sixth Fast Patrol Craft Squadron, received propulsion upgrades in 2019 and a complete hull replacement refit in April.
The redeployment aligns with the navy’s Phase-In, Phase-Out (PIPO) asset management strategy and its broader "15-to-5" Fleet Transformation Re-alignment Programme. The initiative manages maintenance costs and standardises the fleet while gradually phasing out legacy platforms in favour of modern assets.
