By: Chioma Madonna Madonna Ndukwu
A 45-year-old Malaysian navy ship, KD Pendekar, sank after colliding with an unidentified underwater object off the coast of southern Johor state.
The vessel’s crew detected a critical leak in the engine room, but despite urgent efforts, the ship quickly flooded and vanished beneath the waves. “The leak is believed to be caused by the ship hitting an underwater object,” the navy stated. The exact cause of the collision remains a mystery as an investigation is underway.
Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin has ordered an urgent inspection of aging navy vessels and acknowledged that while some ships are old, it is unclear if age played a role. “We do not deny that (some of) our ships are old but that is not likely to be one of the causes, and the important thing is that thankfully, no lives were lost.” The incident is part of a broader effort to modernize the fleet, including plans to acquire new ships from Türkiye.
Source: Gists9ja.
