Navy chief confirms gunboat missing on Sabah waters

Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar has confirmed that authorities have reportedly lost all communication with the RMN gunboat CB 204 while en route to Gugusan Semarang Peninjau on Sabah waters.

There are seven officers on the gunboat, he said in his Twitter.

The gunboat’s last known position was 20 nautical miles northeast Pulau Mengalum around 1.05pm Sunday.

A google map image showing the site where CB 204 was reportedly missing. - Source Google Map

RMN ship KD Paus was instructed to escort CB 204 and had departed from the Kota Kinabalu navy base (PTKK) at 5am.

At 10.30am, the operating room of the Wilayah Laut II headquarters (MWL 2) had received a call from KD Paus informing the ship and gunboat would be turning back to the PTKK due to bad weather.

However, at 1.05pm, KD Paus failed to establish communication with the gunboat. The ship then launched a search between Pulau Mengalum and Pulau Gaya but was unsuccessful.

Ships from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) have been instructed to join the search and rescue (SAR) mission.

KD Lekiu and KD Serang departed PTKK to Pulau Mengalum at 5.30pm to join the SAR mission.

Terputus hubungan ketika diiringi KD PAUS dlm laut bergelora"@501Awani: Bot tempur TLDM dilaporkan terputus hubungan di perairan Sabah
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 5, 2014

Benar. Tolong doakan ianya selamat"@kakmidah: Bot tempur TLDM dilaporkan terputus hubungan diperairan Sabah?!? http://t.co/eD5zlnFC77"
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 5, 2014

Bot CB90 yg terputus hubungan ialah bot no pennant CB204 dianggotai 7 anggota, dan diketuai oleh Lt Azri bin Bakar.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 5, 2014

CB204: 3 kapal TLDM KD Lekiu, KD PAUS dan KD Serang telah ditugaskan dalam Op SAR. TUDM dan APMM turut membantu dalam Op SAR ini.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 5, 2014