All Hands Saved as Royal Malaysian Navy Patrol Boat Sinks

The Royal Malaysian Navy confirmed that 39 crewmembers were saved when one of its patrol boats sunk on Sunday, August 25. The vessel the KD Pendekar was a 45-year-old fast attack boat and was on patrol in the area around the southeastern end of the peninsular near the Singapore Strait.

According to the official report, the 260-ton patrol boat began taking on water in its engine room around noon local time. The crew was unable to stop the flooding and it quickly spread. Due to the uncontrolled flooding, the vessel quickly began to list. The 39 crew aboard were evacuated and were rescued by a commercial vessel. No injuries were reported.

The Navy suspects the vessel hit an underwater object. A board of inquiry is being convened, but they are cautioning not to speculate at this point.

A salvage effort was mounted but about four hours later, the Navy reported the vessel had completely sunk. It was about two nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusop. The Navy has other assets in the area and is still planning a salvage operation. The Navy thanked Maritime Malaysia, the Royal Malaysian Police, and the commercial maritime community for their assistance.

The Pendekar was built as one of four vessels for the Malaysian Navy by Karlskrona Varvet Shipyard in Sweden. It was commissioned in 1979. The vessel was 260 displacement tons with a length of 141 feet (43 meters). The ship was designed with a seven-day endurance.

The top speed of 34 knots and design made the vessel very agile and well-suited for a broad range of missions. It was used in search and rescue as well as patrols to prevent issues such as illegal fishing. It was armed with both 57 mm and 40 mm/70 guns. The four vessels were originally fitted with Exocet anti-ship missiles, but according to media reports the plan had been to remove them from the ships because the technology was outdated.

The loss of the vessel is another blow to a Navy that was cited in a report last month as having problems due to the age of its fleet. One of the four patrol boats in this class was previously lost with three of the vessels remaining in service despite their advanced age. According to the report, half of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s fleet is beyond its projected lifespan with delays in securing replacements. The country’s first newbuilds are not scheduled to be delivered till 2026.

Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin told the Malaysian Star newspaper on Monday that while the sinking was not caused by the age of the vessel, they would be taking action. In addition to the investigation into the sinking, he told the newspaper the ministry would be conducting inspections on a third of the fleet. The minister said the Navy has 10 to 15 ships that are over 40 years old.