LUMUT: After serving the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) for 41 years, the hydrographic vessel KD Mutiara was decommissioned today.
The official decommissioning ceremony was a nostalgic event, said RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin.
“This ceremony is (in honour of KD Mutiara’s service to the country). Such ceremonies (are held) by navies around the world when vessels reach their ‘expiry dates,” he said at a post-ceremony press conference at Tambatan Pangkalan TLDM, here, today.
The ship, which was built in 1975 and launched on Nov 13, 1976, is equipped with technology to carry out offshore operations and oceanographic studies in tropical seas.
“The ship served (for) 41 years, which is a long period. In some developed countries, ships only (serve) for 20 years.
“The KD Mutiara was kept in service thanks to a cost-effective cost maintenance plan,” he said, adding that he congratulated the navy for maintaining the ship well.
“I feel so proud, because the ship (still) looks good. A good maintenance-culture has been embraced by the navy. (It sends the message that) we always take care of government assets,” Kamarulzaman added.
Asked about what lies ahead for the ship, the RMN chief said it may be taken over by “several interested parties.”
The KD Mutiara has travelled 220,000 kilometres – which is equal to sailing six times around the world.
It carried out 146 Hydrographic Instructions covering 68,598 square kilometres of the ocean.
Most notably, the ship was part of a fleet assigned to search for MH370 in the Indian Ocean after it went missing on March 8, 2014.
In addition, the KD Mutiara assisted in the search of the YTC M5, which collided with a trading vessel and capsized near Kuantan, Pahang on Nov 2, 2014. It successfully detected the wreckage at a depth of 29 metres, 9.2 nautical miles from Tanjung Gelang, Kuantan.
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