A Malaysian Navy ship which was docked at the Bousted Naval Shipyard (BNS)  for refit work sank partially when water flooded the lower point of the vessel.

The KD Perantau, commissioned on Oct 12 1998 with pennant number 151, suffered flooding around 11.17pm last night, allegedly during an attempt to remove its one-tonne generator set.

The hydrography ship was also used in the search and rescue mission of flight MH370 which is believed to have gone missing in the southern parts of the Indian ocean.

According to a statement issued by the Royal Malaysian Navy base here, the vessel was sent to BNS for refit works on Nov 10 recently and it was to be handed back to the navy on Aug 10 next year.

The official statement said that almost all movable equipment such pumps, motors and survey apparatus had already been removed from the ship in preparation for the refit work.

It said an investigation board would be set up to determine the cause of the flooding, stressing that both the navy and BNS were salvaging the ship.

No one was reported injured according to the Royal Malaysian Navy statement.

<strong>Image credit</strong>: nst.com/my