The Royal Malaysian Navy has released what could be a very useful app for cruising yachts in this region.

Published 7 years ago, updated 6 years ago

The Royal Malaysian Navy has released a marine emergency response/SOS/incident reporting app – available to all mariners in Malaysian waters.

Concerning incidents are happening more frequently in Malaysian waters so this new development will mean that via the app cruising yachts can report marine-related incidents and request emergency assistance from 6 different Malaysian maritime authorities including, Navy, Coastguard, Maritime Police, Jabatan Laut and the Fisherman’s Association.

Download K3M from your app store – unfortunately, the registration process is only presented in Bahasa Malaysia but if you can get past this and log on you can then select English – it is labelled “INGERRIS” – the word for “English” in Bahasa.

Malay Fishermen

An on-going problem is cruising boats being harassed by a fisherman when at anchor, particularly on the West coast, blamed for laying their anchors over fishing nets and then being pushed for money to cover the damage (when in fact the net was laid over the anchor whilst the owners were sleeping). This kind of extortion is being taken seriously and cruisers along with local marine businesses are working together to try and present a compelling case to stop this action.

By using this app to report any such incidents, the cruising community in Malaysia will have actual evidence and proof in their discussions with the authorities – photos are always very helpful.

See this report for incidents of harassment reported by cruisers.

AHOY Penang

Set up by long-term SE Asia cruiser Jennifer Rouse in May 2016, this group began as a place for cruisers to share important information and fun things about destinations in the Straits of Melaka – Penang. Jennifer has become more involved with security reports from cruising yachts, and in particular with the problems occurring with Malay fisherman.

The AHOY Penang facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/236724750020789/) is also a good place to report any security incidents whilst cruising in Malaysian waters.

If you do report or request assistance via the new App, please also PM the facebook page AHOY Penang, or contact them via their website AHOY Penang (https://www.ahoypenang.com/ [Broken Link]), so that they can build a file for action. They also will appreciate all feedback about the new App so they can determine usefulness and responsiveness of the maritime authorities to the needs of the cruising yacht community in this region of SE Asia.

AHOY Penang – A Hub of Yachting

Jennifer Rouse
MV Tiger Lily
Straits Quay Marina in Penang
Tel:Mobile: 0128404341
Email: jennifer.rouse@hotmail.com