
Redang & Perhentian Islands · Malaysia · Wreck · Artificial reef
Police Wreck
Three police boats sunk in 2012 between 14 and 19 m
Area photo: Ditch Townsend · CC BY-SA 4.0
Police Wreck is a set of three decommissioned police boats sunk off Perhentian Besar in 2012 as an artificial reef. They lie between 14 and 19 m, close enough together to be dived as one site, and the shallow depth and simple layout make it the local choice for wreck-specialty training.
Where it is and how deep
5.9120° N, 102.7498° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Three hulls, not one. The site is a group of decommissioned police boats put down together in 2012 as an artificial reef, and the dive is a tour between them rather than a lap of a single wreck. They lie between 14 and 19 m, so the plan sits inside recreational limits throughout: descend, take the deeper hull first if you want the margin, and finish shallow on the others.
The diving is relatively easy, which is why it is used as a wreck-specialty course site. The boats are small, the layout is quick to read, and the profile leaves enough gas for circling the structure and running skills afterwards. Published detail on what has grown on the wrecks and on visibility and current is thin, so treat it as a training and structure dive first and take whatever life is there as a bonus.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Three decommissioned police boats
- Type
- Police patrol boats
- Sunk
- 2012
- Cause
- Decommissioned and sunk deliberately as an artificial reef
- Lies
- As a group of three hulls between 14 and 19 m
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Redang & Perhentian Islands: The marine park is officially closed November 1-February 28 for the northeast monsoon; conditions are calmest and clearest April-September.
Questions divers ask
Is Police Wreck good for a first wreck dive?+
It is the usual local site for wreck-specialty training. The three boats are small, lie between 14 and 19 m and are described as a relatively easy wreck dive.
Sources
- Police Wreck - Scubago — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Redang & Perhentian Islands
Reef
A shallow shark nursery reached straight from the beach
Reef
Stacked boulders and swim-throughs on Besar's east face
Reef
Staghorn and table coral to 18 m, with reliably clear water
Pinnacle
Submerged pinnacle from 14 m down a wall to 32 m of sand
Wreck
A 32 m patrol vessel scuttled as a reef, top at 16 m
Reef
Coral slope two minutes off Long Beach, ending on rock
Wreck
Six impounded fishing boats sunk together at 23 m
Wreck
A 90 m sugar carrier the coral has not finished claiming
Similar dives elsewhere
US-built landing ship, scuttled as an artificial reef in 2006
Upright navy wreck, superstructure at 18 m, keel at 30 m
Small wrecks and concrete cubes in one calm bay, with batfish in the hulls
Three sunk ships and a retired underwater habitat in one bay



