CB204: 'We were up all night, waiting for communication with other vessels' - Azri

“We tried to communicate with other vessels. There was no single ship to return our ‘call’ and we experienced bad weather through out the night.

A member of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Lt Azri Bakar recalled the gruelling hours after the combat vessel CB2014 carrying him and six other crew members were reported missing on Sunday.

He explained that two other ships used the same communication signal but none returned their call.

“We were hoping that a ship was looking for us... we tried to communicate in hoping that we would get an answer and for us to provide our location,” he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

CB204

ALL SMILES: The crew members giving the thumbs up after arriving at the RMN base at Kota Kinabalu. –Photo: Astro AWANI

Azri added that that the pump malfunctioned forcing the crew members were forced to release water manually. He also said that the engine and steering gear stopped functioning too.

Apart from Lt Azri, the crew on board CB204 were BK PAP Charles Cristopher Muni, BM TMK Ince Ewin, BM TMK Steven Hudson Miso, BM JTP Nor Azuan Ariffin, LK KOM Sulhajji Daah and LK I PAP Azhry Maani.

The RMN on Sunday said they have lost all communication with the combat vessel as it headed to an RMN station on Layang-Layang atoll off Sabah.

The vessel left the RMN base in Kota Kinabalu at 5am on Sunday and lost radio communication with the escort vessel at 11.15 am.

The vessel was found about 30 nautical miles off Pulau Layang Layang after establishing contact with its crew at 4.15pm on Monday.

Azri also said the crew members were deprived of food as they had only sufficient food supplies for a 10-hour journey.

“The vessel was for a one-day trip and I provided food enough for a 10 to 12-hour journey starting from 5am until 6.20pm,” he said.

CB204

FAMILY MAN: Azri reunited with his wife Fazilah Makun at the RMN Base, Kota Kinabalu. –Photo: Astro AWANI

Azri also expressed his gratitude as no unfortunate incident happened to the crew members. Azri and the other crew members also thanked all Malaysians for the continuous support and prayers by Malaysians for their safety.

After more than 72 hours experiencing bad weather and missing for over 30 hours in the Mengalum waters of Sabah, five crews of seven gunboats CB204 have safely arrived at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base here at 12.50pm today.

The crew members were escorted by KD Ganas gunboats since 4am yesterday after they were found -- in a state exhaustion near Terumbu Layang-Lauang at west coast of Sabah at 6.49pm yesterday.