KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — The Royal Malaysian Navy's (TLDM) KD Pendekar ship is now partially submerged, after a leak and flooding at around noon time at two nautical miles from southeast of the Tanjung Penyusop cape near Pengerang, Johor, according to the navy.

The navy said the leak occurred while the shop was carrying out operations, and that the leak is believed to be from the vessel hitting an underwater object.

"The leak which was first detected at the ship's engine room had spread rapidly and uncontrollably. All crew were successfully rescued after efforts to control the leak and stabilise the ships were unsuccessful.

"The TLDM's main focus now is to carry out salvage operations to rescue the ship,” it said in a statement today, before later confirming that there were 39 crew members.

The navy added that it will be setting up a special investigation board immediately to identify the source of the incident.

TLDM also thanked agencies who were involved in quickly giving aid, namely the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the maritime community nearby.

The navy advised the public to not speculate regarding the incident and to refer to TLDM's official sources for the latest development and information.

According to publicly available information, the KD Pendekar was commissioned 45 years ago on July 27, 1979.