Ex-Navyman Recalls 72-Hour Ordeal In South China Sea

By Kurniawati Kamarudin KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- Ex-navy man Ismail Abdul Aziz, 54, wants to write a book that tells the 72-hour ordeal underwent by the survivors when their vessel, KD Sri Perak, sank in the South China Sea some 28 years ago. "I like to write. Now I'm sketching my experience in my blog and hope to compile them into a book one day," noted the former Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) personnel. The book that Ismail intends to author will narrate the dark chapter involving the patrol vessel KD Sri Perak, that went down near the Natuna Island, with three of its crewmen ending in a watery grave. The former Able Seaman started the conversation with the writer by stating that he would never forget the fateful day, Jan 8, 1984. Though he quit the navy in 1990, for Ismail, known as Pak Mail, the vessel's final minutes and the following 72 hour ordeal for the 26 crewmen on a life raft, remains fresh in his mind till today. The ordeal is still vivid in Ismail's mind and in describing the anxious moments, frown lines appear on his forehead, telling how deeply he was impacted by the incident. THE FATEFUL DAY KD Sri Perak's voyage to Labuan began on 6 Jan, 1984 from RMN's base in Lumut, with the vessel sailing as part of a convoy with two other patrol vessels - KD Sri Terengganu and KD Hang Tuah. Ismail was among the 29 crewmen, officers and cadets on the ill-fated vessel, where he handled radio communications. Half of the KD Sri Perak's crew were new faces, including Ismail, who reported for duty onboard just one month earlier. Even the vessel's commanding officer, Lt. Chandran, and Executive Officer, Sub. Lt Fuad Ithnin, were new to the vessel. KD Sri Perak was fit for the journey and had just undergone maintenance at the Kuala Terengganu dockyard. On 7 Jan, the three vessels made a stop for the night at the Malaysian naval post in Woodlands, Singapore before continuing on to Labuan on the following day. The voyage was part of the training for RMN's new cadets. However, while at the South China Sea, KD Terengganu, which was trailing behind KD Hang Tuah, faced technical problems and the vessels had to break off from the convoy. KD Sri Perak was the last vessel in the convoy ordered to head to Labuan on its own, while KD Hang Tuah escorted the limping KD Terengganu to a dockyard. "The waves then were rough and pounding the vessel, the crew could hardly rest and moving within the vessel was very difficult, and the visibility was extremely limited, too. "Due to the heavy pounding of the waves, a hatch on the deck leading to a hold had become loose and sea water started seeping in," he said. EDGY MOMENTS Yet, no one realised that the vessel has been taking in water until about 4.30 p.m when Ismail, who was at his station at the stern, was jolted by loud calls asking the crewmen to report to the deck immediately. By then, the 30 meter (100 feet) long vessel had started to list as the bow was sinking. He rushed onto the deck where an Ordinary Seamen, only known as Ibrahim, told him that water had entered the vessel from the bow. "I rushed back below and to the front and, sure enough, the water had risen to our knees. I rushed back to my station at the stern and attempted to communicate with the base, to no avail," he said. Out of desperation he did whatever he could to relay the vessel's fate, however his MAYDAY calls never went through. "With Ibrahim's help, I tried to establish communications, but suddenly the GSB 900 went silent, the flickering lights on the radio went off, and we had lost radio communications for good," he said. As the bow was sinking further, the commander ordered the crew to muster at the aft deck and this is where Ismail was baffled by the events unfolding right in front of him. Realising that they could not salvage the vessel, the crew waited for the instruction that they were expecting from the commander - abandon ship. Ismail recalled that in the distress, some had safety jackets on and some, including Ismail, were not donning their safety jackets. Ismail said he could vividly recall the looks on the faces of his colleagues, who were obviously shocked after the commanding officer informed them that they only had one life raft, as the one on the bow had been washed away by the pounding waves. Leading Rate Bakar Satiman and an Ordinary Seaman, known as Mokhtar, took the initiative to cut the rope holding the life raft and released it into the sea. By then the bow had sunk 45 degrees, causing some crewmen to slide down the deck and into the sea while others grabbed onto whatever they could hold on to. "It happened so fast and we had to jump into the sea to save ourselves. The life raft, a dinghy, had opened up and we swam towards it," said Ismail, who witnessed the vessel sinking into the sea at about 5 pm. POIGANT MOMENTS Ismail noted that from the dinghy, they saw three of their colleagues in the water, but they were motionless. They were Executive Officer Mohd Fuad, Shaharuddin Sharani, 22, and Mokhtar Amir Nawi, 20, both Ordinary Seaman. "The three had safety vests on and it is still not clear why they failed to swim to the life raft, though they were only about 30 meters away. Perhaps they were overwhelmed by fear and panic. "The high and strong waves pushed the life raft and within minutes the three crewmen in the water were out of view," he said. "At that juncture, the watch on my wrist showed 5.05 p.m. Though we regretted doing nothing to save the three, actually there was nothing that we could do, except pray that help would arrive soon. "Thank god it happened in the evening, as there was still daylight. If the sinking happened at night, there could have been more causalities," he said. However, their woes were far from over. The dinghy was meant for 15 persons, but cramped with 26 of them and, as there was no space to move, they had to remain in the same position. The survival kit on the dinghy had food items like canned drinks, biscuits, fishing gear, and others to be shared by all. "Water was very precious then. On the overcrowded dinghy we had to quench our thirst with the rainwater throughout the four day-three night ordeal at sea," he said. THE LONGEST DAY While floating aimlessly in the vast sea, with the open sky overhead, it felt like time was moving very slow, he said. It was very uncomfortable on the crowded dinghy and, without knowing what is going to happen next, the survivors have to manage their own emotions. Most of the crewmen were singles, including Ismail who was 26 years old. "Only seven or eight of them had families. Maybe they felt differently from me, as they had more to ponder as husbands and fathers. "At that time, we did our best to cheer up one another and we were never bothered on what fate was awaiting us," he said. "On the first night, we saw the bright lights of a merchant ship on the horizon moving towards us. I took the flare gun to be fired to attract the ship's attention, while the others shouted for help. "However, as the rough waves were tossing the dinghy up and down, added with the dark night, we were just a small speck in the vast sea and the ship could not see us," he said. Ismail also recalled that a group of dolphins accompanied their dinghy during the day. On the second and third day of their ordeal in the sea, their faith and hopes began to waiver and the survivors began pondering the fate awaiting them. Their declining emotional state was made worse by their physical condition - cramped legs after being in the same position for hours and the lack of sleep. "Their fear was real, as the food ration, too, was running out fast. Everyone was raising their concerns. Some were already talking about meeting their fate, as well as the family that they would be leaving behind. It was emotionally tense," he recalled. HELP FINALLY ARRIVES On the fourth day, Jan 11, they faced another critical problem. Their dinghy was becoming deflated and this sent deep fears into their heart. In the afternoon, it started raining and as soon as the rain stopped the survivors could not believe what they heard. The drone of an aircraft flying low. The Australian Air Force's AP3C Orion surveillance aircraft was part of the joint search and rescue operations conducted after the vessel disappeared. Ismail said everyone on the dinghy waved towards the aircraft and their facial expressions indicated great relief, some even broke down and cried. "The aircraft made a circle and returned and fired flares at the four corners of the dinghy to mark their location. "The pilot than made another circle and dropped a package containing food and water, before heading back," he said. About one hour later, at around 5 p.m., a merchant vessel, the MV Thunderhead, rescued the sailors. He said some of the crewmen had to be carried on board, as they were too weak or their legs were cramped. Onboard, they were given food and water before being picked up by another RMN vessel – the KD Mahawangsa. On the following day, Jan 12, two Nuri helicopters ferried them to Kuching before they boarded a Royal Malaysian Air Force's Hercules 130 plane and headed to Ipoh. They were greeted upon their arrival there by Vice Admiral Datuk Mohd Zain Mohd Salleh and other senior officers. The search for the three missing crewmen continued, but they were never found. COMPILING THEIR EXPERIENCE Though 28 years have passed, none of the survivors wanted to talk about their ordeal or share with others what they had been through. It is all locked in their minds. "I hope my wishes to compile the ordeal into a book will come true. It will serve as a personal memoir, especially for me, my children and grandchildren," said the father of three, between 17 and 23 years old. Ismail, now self employed, is tracking down fellow survivors to share their ordeal and record them for the book. "Only those who have been through it would know the situation, and I'm one of them and, thank god, I'm here today to share what I have been through," he said. -- BERNAMA