KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Marine Department had authorised Ugeens Berjaya Enterprise to carry out salvage work in Usukan waters to help a Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) research on World War 2-era shipwrecks.
State Marine Department director Abdul Nasar Abdul Hadi said the permission was given after the department consulted and received feedback from agencies.
The department had received an application letter from the company on Dec 12 last year and a support letter from UMS two days later.
“The department issued a letter to Sabah Parks and Sabah Museum Department on Dec 16 to get feedback. We received a response on Dec 21 from Sabah Parks confirming that the research area is not a protected area. On Jan 4, we received a letter from the Sabah Museum Department. A copy of the permit to carry out exploration work in Usukan was received on Jan 12,” he said.
The department had also received a letter from the National Security Council on Dec 16, stating that the council did not have any objections to the salvage work.
According to the letter issued by Sabah Museum, the company was given permission to carry out exploration from Jan 6 to April 6 based on an understanding that the exploration was to be done specifically for research and record in collaboration with UMS’s Borneo Archaeological Research Unit.
The Sabah Museum Department also stressed that the company must comply with the conditions under the Antiquities and Treasure Trove Enactment 1977, whereby excavation must be conducted scientifically and reasonable steps must be taken for the preservation of antiques.
Nasar said based on Section 491B of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, salvage work should be done solely for research purposes and within four approved coordinates.
Any action to dispose of or move the shipwrecks must get a written approval from the director.
On Jan 26, the Marine Department issued a withdrawal letter to the company and ordered the salvage vessel to leave the area after research operations were ordered stopped on Jan 25.
The research was carried out following a claim by UMS that the vessels contained 3,000 tonnes of what could be toxic waste.
UMS Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah had said the research was being carried out to determine if the wrecks had a negative impact on the environment and the community.
“Due to the condition of the ships, which had deteriorated, conventional approach to archaeological research was deemed too dangerous, hence the salvage approach was carried out to gain access to the interior of the ship.”
Harun did not respond on the materials salvaged for the research.
However, he claimed that the materials salvaged were kept in the varsity’s archaeological research laboratory.