Redang & Perhentian Islands, the area around Police Wreck

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

Depth profile of Police Wreck: typical dive 14–19 m (46–62 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit14 m19 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

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.

Month-by-month season rating for Police Wreck
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonOff-seasonGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFairOff-seasonOff-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

  1. Police Wreck - Scubago — Scubago (SSI)

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