New Shipwreck for divers at P Tioman, Malaysia
April 3, 2012 – 7:05 pm
Pulau Tioman, the towering, tropical forest-clad, coral-fringed island off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, has a new shipwreck to dive.
The former Royal Malaysian Navy warship KM Sipadan was sunk on 28th March 2012 to become an artificial reef.
KM Sipadan was commissioned some 48 years ago under the original name KD Sri Sarawak. It was decommissioned in 2005 and deployed to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. Prior to sinking, she was cleaned so as not to pollute the South China Sea, and the engine and weapons were removed.
The KM Sipadan is 31m long and 4.5m wide and lies at the Sawadee dive site at around 30 metres depth, with the deck at around 25 metres. Sawadee is just south of Pulau Tioman’s popular ABC beach area so is easy to reach.
The Sipadan wreck will soon be covered in marine life and we can’t wait until the marine park officially releases the wreck to divers which will happen once it is firmly settled on the seabed. She is fully penetrable but still needs to be mapped to ensure safe entry and exit.
Plans are afoot to offer special training packages including Nitrox, Wreck and Deep Specialty courses.
Contact Symbiosis for more info and to arrange a trip to Peninsular Malaysia.
2 Responses to “New Shipwreck for divers at P Tioman, Malaysia”
The ship was sunk on 29th April 2012??!
By Liz Lu Meiru on Apr 25, 2012
Well spotted!! Talented photographer or one with a time machine. Date has now been corrected – it was actually sunk on 28 March 2012.
By chris on Apr 25, 2012