KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — The Royal Malaysian Navy’s Kapal Diraja (KD) Pendekar which sank on Aug 25 after suffering a leak and major flooding was successfully refloated on Saturday evening.
The Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) in a statement informed that the ship was successfully refloated at 4.38pm through a salvage operation that was completed despite facing several challenges.
“The location of the shipwreck is now confirmed to be safe and there are no ammunition or explosives that could threaten the safety of the maritime community, especially those who often use the waters.
“The future of the ships that are over 45 years old will be decided together with the ‘Phasing In-Phasing Out’ plan of obsolete ships that are still in service as a whole in line with the Alignment of the 15to5 TLDM Transformation Plan,” according to the statement.
TLDM in the statement also informed that the ship is currently undergoing preliminary repairs before being handed back to TLDM, while the cause and factors that led to the incident are being investigated by the investigation board.
On Aug 25, the KD Pendekar was reported to have struck a submerged object and started flooding before it sank in the South China Sea two nautical miles Southeast of Tanjung Penyusop, in Kota Tinggi, Johor on the same day.
Three days after that, a member of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RLDM) Laskar Klas (LK) I PLM Arman San Hermansa was reported to have died while recovering the wreckage of KD Pendekar on Aug 28. — Bernama
