The KD Pendekar suffered “severe flooding” due to a leak first discovered in the engine room around noon on Sunday, the Royal Malaysian Navy said in a statement.

Despite the crew’s efforts to keep the ship under control and stabilize it, it was completely submerged at 3:54 p.m., the Navy said.

“Efforts to salvage the vessel are still ongoing,” the navy said, adding that it sank about 2 nautical miles (3.74 km) southeast of Tanjung Penyusop.

The Navy confirmed that all 39 crew members were rescued before the ship sank. No injuries were reported. The sailors were taken to the nearby KD Sultan Ismail naval base in Tanjung Pengelih.

A special investigation commission was set up to determine the exact cause of the devastating leak and environmental monitoring teams were deployed on site.

The Navy acknowledges the seriousness of the situation and urged the public to refrain from any speculation, promising to provide accurate updates through official channels.

The KD Pendekar, a Handalan-class fast boat that joined the fleet on 27 July 1979, is one of four vessels of this class built by the Swedish shipyard Kalskrona Varvet.

The 43.6-meter-long ship was armed with a 57 mm Bofors main gun, a 40 mm secondary gun and Exocet anti-ship missiles.

It was in use at the time of the incident.

The Malaysian Navy praised the quick intervention of the sailors who successfully rescued all 39 crew members before the ship sank completely.

In addition, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and police were thanked for their prompt response and assistance during the incident.