KD Pendekar, a Royal Malaysian Navy missile boat armed with guns and missiles, experienced leakage and flooding at noon local time, two nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusop at Johor's southeastern coast, one of the country's states situated in the south of the Malay Peninsula.
The ship was completely submerged at 3:54 p.m. following a successful rescue operation of all 39 crew members. "No injuries were reported," the naval forces of Malaysia said in a statement. The sailors were safe and later placed at KD Sultan Ismail, a naval base in Tanjung Pengelih, Johor.
According to a local media report, the Pendekar was built in Sweden's shipyard and launched in November 1978 before being commissioned in July 1979. It had a length of 143 feet and a full displacement of 268 tons with "versatile firepower" against both targets at the sea and in the air.
The South China Sea is one of the contested waters in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has maritime disputes with neighboring countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
The Malaysian navy said it was believed that the warship hit an underwater object while carrying out operational duties. Flooding was initially detected in the engine room, which spread rapidly and got out of control. Crew's efforts to control the leaks and stabilize the vessel were unsuccessful.
MNA
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