Hope kept navy men alive
They assured each other they would see their loved ones again
KUANTAN: As the hours dragged on, some among the nine Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) personnel adrift on a boat at sea for over two days had started to lose hope of being found and seeing their loved ones again.
But a strong spirit of camaraderie among the seamen got them through the harrowing 51 hours at sea after losing radio communication with their parent vessel KD Perdana.
The only things they could count on for survival were each other and a 500ml bottle of water.
“Whenever any of us started to lose hope, we would all encourage him not to give up. We reminded each other that our loved ones were waiting to see us again,” said surface warfare officer Lt Mohd Hidir Yusof, 32, after the men returned to port at the Tanjung Gelang naval base here yesterday.
The men were welcomed home by RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin and their family members.
Several of the men broke into tears as they embraced their loved ones.
“I thought I was doomed. I thought I would never see you again,” said a tearful LK 1 Zulhusni Sherhutdin, 25, as he hugged his parents.
He said there was no food on the rigidhulled inflatable boat they were on and they had to ration a small bottle of mineral water among all of them.
As the hours continued, he said “there was a sense of fear that we would not make it”. “I am so grateful we were found,” he added. Commander of Naval Region 1 Rear Admiral Datuk Mohd Reza Mohd Sany said the boarding team was dispatched from the KD Perdana fast attack craft to chase off foreign fishing vessels when contact was lost off Tanjung Sedili, Johor, on Saturday.
“When KD Perdana could not find them, a search-and-rescue operation was launched and then expanded northwards where we expected the boat to have drifted due to the strong currents,” he said.
He added that a passing merchant ship reported seeing a group of men waving from a boat about 90 nautical miles east of Tanjung Gelang on Monday and a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) plane was sent to confirm the sighting.
“A night winching operation was then conducted to send over food, medicine and communication devices to the boat. By that time, there were already two local fishing vessels nearby lending them a hand.
“KD Perdana was tasked with bringing the boarding team home at 2.07am Tuesday,” said Rear Admiral Mohd Reza.
Admiral Ahmad Kamarulzaman said other than being sunburnt, the men appeared to be in good health.
He said a board of inquiry would investigate the cause of the incident and look into adherence to standard operating procedure to ensure there is no recurrence.
The patrol boat ran out of fuel and suffered communication equipment failure, according to preliminary findings, he said.
He also thanked the RMAF, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, marine police and the Navy’s counterparts from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam for their assistance in the search-and-rescue operation.