Malaysia to get 2 survey vessels to speed up seabed mapping

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Hydrographic Centre (NHC) will receive two survey motor launches under the 2027 Budget to speed up seabed mapping in Malaysian waters.

Royal Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Zulhelmy Ithnain said the allocation had been approved, although procurement had yet to begin.

"The NHC currently has only one hydrographic survey vessel, making it difficult to cover the country's entire maritime domain.

"The two smaller vessels will primarily survey shallow waters, while deeper and open-water areas will continue to be covered by KD Perantau and chartered vessels," he said at a press conference after the launch of the Seabed 2030 programme.

Survey motor launches are designed to map shallow coastal waters and areas that larger vessels may struggle to access. The data collected on water depths and seabed features are used to produce nautical charts for safe navigation and maritime operations.

Zulhelmy said Malaysia aimed to complete seabed mapping before 2050, adding that the additional vessels would help accelerate the work.

"However, chartered vessels would still be necessary to speed up the process further, as the navy's existing vessels have other operational responsibilities," he said.

The New Straits Times previously reported that only 63 per cent of Malaysia's vast maritime domain had been surveyed to modern, high-density hydrographic standards, leaving 37 per cent yet to meet the benchmark.

NHC director-general Rear Admiral Najhan Md Said said the decommissioning of naval survey vessel KD Mutiara in 2018 had left KD Perantau as the centre's sole hydrographic survey ship.