A 45-year-old fast attack ship of the Malaysian navy sank after it struck an unknown underwater object on the eastern coast of Johor state. All 39 crew members were evacuated safely, with no injuries.
According to media reports, Malaysian authorities were working on Monday to salvage the ship that sank due to a leak believed to be caused by hitting an underwater object. The crew could not fix the hole and the 260-ton ship sank underwater.
Naval crew of a Malaysian attack craft jumped ship after its hull struck an object underwater causing it to leak and sea water flooded the engine room two nautical miles off Johor coast today. The crew were later rescued and the stricken ship moored by a private ship - vidsocmed pic.twitter.com/0LqwWOFJnK
— Kuala Lumpur Reporter 🇲🇾 (@KL_Reporter) August 25, 2024
According to a statement by the Malaysian navy, the leak was first detected in the engine room of the K.D. Pendekar on Sunday. The vessel was soon flooded.
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the incident.
ROYAL MALAYSIAN NAVY FAC SUNK
— Muhammad Haziq Hafizan ( Capt ) (@HaziqKapten) August 25, 2024
25 August 2024 , one of the Royal Malaysian Navy Perkasa-Class Fast Attack Craft , KD Pendekar 3513 has sunk today at the eastern coast of Johor. All 39 crew onboard were successfully rescued and safe , official statement from RMN stated that - pic.twitter.com/6JJIoDNcai
In the wake of the incident, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin ordered an inspection of navy vessels over 40 years old, which make up at least a third of the Malaysian navy's fleet. “We do not deny that (some of) our ships are old but that is not likely to be one of the causes ... and the important thing is that thankfully no lives were lost,” Khaled was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Harian Metro newspaper.
The Pendekar, built by Karlskrona Varvet Shipyard in Sweden, was commissioned into the Malaysian fleet in 1979.
Khaled said a fleet modernisation is ongoing, involving the construction of littoral combat ships with the first due to be commissioned in 2026.
Littoral combat ships are small surface vessels designed for near-shore operations.
—With agency inputs
