MV Mega Bakti returns from KRI Nanggala 402 search operation

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) submarine rescue ship MV Mega Bakti has safely returned to RMN's operations jetty in Teluk Sepanggar here after participating in the search and rescue (SAR) operation of the KRI Nanggala 402 in the waters of Bali, Indonesia.

According to the Public Relations Division of the Submarine Command Headquarters here, the submarine rescue ship arrived at about 9 am today.

The 54-member crew SAR team comprising 10 Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) medical officers and personnel and 44 MV Mega Bakti crew and headed by Komander Mohd Hairul Fahmy Yob was in good condition and would undergo the prescribed landing procedures, it said today.

It added that the crew members had also undergone the COVID-19 screening tests upon arrival to ensure they were free from the virus.

MV Mega Bakti is an RMN charter vessel with a primary capability of performing SAR operations for submarines.

The search operation for KRI Nanggala 402 was its second SAR operation after being involved in the search for MH370 reported missing in the Indian Ocean in 2014.

The rescue ship set off from the Submarine Command Headquarters operations jetty in Teluk Sepanggar on April 22 and arrived in the Bali waters on April 25 before ending the operation on April 30.

On April 25, Indonesian Armed Forces Commander Hadi Tjahjanto announced that KRI Nanggala 402, which was reported missing on April 21, had sunk and all 53 crew perished.

-- BERNAMA