Royal Malaysian Navy Ship Sinks Entirely Off Johor Coast Due To Severe Flooding

A Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) ship sank after colliding with an underwater object off the coast of Johor on August 25, 2024. All 39 crew members of the ship were evacuated safely without any injuries.

The ship, identified as the KD Pendekar, leaked at around 12 p.m. and was first detected in the engine room. It then spread uncontrollably, causing severe flooding.

Despite the efforts to stop the leak and stabilize the vessel, the situation worsened, causing the 260-ton vessel to sink.

The Royal Malaysian Navy reported that the collision with the unidentified undersea object occurred two miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusop.

The RMN has begun a salvage operation to retrieve the partially sunken vessel and will establish a special investigative board to determine the exact cause of the leak.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the police, and the local maritime community were involved in the recovery efforts.

The public has been advised to avoid speculating on the incident and to rely on official RMN sources for accurate updates.

The Malaysian authorities have also been inspecting naval vessels that are over 40 years old since the incident.

The KD Pendekar, built at Karlskrona Varvet Shipyard in Sweden and commissioned in 1979, is one of the fleet’s oldest ships.

Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin stated that even if the ship’s age may not have been the main cause of the incident, the Malaysian Navy is undergoing a fleet modernization program.

The modernization involves the construction of new littoral combat ships, the first of which is scheduled for commissioning in 2026, and negotiations to purchase littoral mission ships from Turkey.

Reference: NDTV, AP News

Royal Malaysian Navy Ship Sinks Entirely Off Johor Coast Due To Severe Flooding appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News