Malaysia refloats sunken attack craft for repairs

KD Pendekar seen here while it was being raised from the site where it sank. (Royal Malaysian Navy)

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Handalan-class (Spica-M) fast attack craft KD Pendekar that sank off the southeast coast of Johor has been retrieved from the seabed and refloated, the service has disclosed in a 13 October statement.

“Several challenges were encountered during the salvage operations, but it was successfully completed,” said the RMN in its statement.

“The location where the vessel sank is now safe, and there are no ammunition nor explosive material that might pose a harm to the maritime community, especially vessels that frequent those waters, remain at the site,” the statement added.

The vessel will undergo some repairs before it is handed over to the RMN.

Pendekar , which bears pennant number 3513, sank on 25 August after experiencing a hull leakage and subsequently a major flooding incident.

It sank about 2 n miles off the southeast coast of Tanjung Penyusop in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

In response to questions from Janes , a representative from the RMN clarified on 16 October that while it was successfully refloated, the service has yet to decide whether it will decommission Pendekar .

A decision on this will be taken once investigations into the sinking are concluded and its cause fully determined, the representative added.

Pendekar is one of four 44 m, 240 tonne Handalan-class fast attack craft that is in service with the RMN. The vessel was commissioned in October 1979.