Malaysia's waters are a treasure trove for maritime history, ranging from ancient wooden vessels predating the Melaka Sultanate to World War II warships.
If you are looking for specific shipwrecks, they generally fall into three categories: Recent Discoveries, Diving Sites, and Historical Wrecks.
1. Major Historical Discoveries
These are wrecks that have shaped Malaysia's archaeological history.
Desaru:
- Date Sank: 1840's
- Wreck found: May 2001- 2 nautical mile off the coast of Desaru, Johor (actual name of the vessel is unknown)
- Type: Chinese Junk
- Items recovered: Blue and white porcelain and other ceramics.
Pulau Melaka Wreck (The "Melaka Chieftain" Ship):
- Date Found: October 2025 (very recent).
- Significance: Estimated to be 800–1,200 years old, this giant wooden ship (50–70m long) predates the arrival of Parameswara. Built from local merbau and saga wood, it proves advanced Malay maritime technology existed long before colonial influence.
The Diana :
- Date Sank : 5 March 1817
- Wreck found: 1993 - Off Tanjung Bidara, Melaka.Excavation work undertaken in January 1994 by Malaysian Historical Salvage Sdn Bhd. First legal commercial projects, resulted in numerous problems relating to the concession.
- Cargo: A British East India Company ship that sank with over 24,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain.
The Turiang (c. 1370):
- Location: Off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
- Significance: A Chinese junk carrying a mix of Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese ceramics, highlighting the "Maritime Silk Road."
Singtai
- Date Sank: Around 1550
- Wreck found: April 2001 - 12 nautical mile from Pulau Redang, Terengganu
- Type: Chinese Junk Items recovered from wreck: Heavily loaded with Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai and Maenam Noi kiln ceramics from Thailand. Hundreds of large Singburi storage jars were found in the main hold.
Longquan
- Date sank: 1400's
- Wreck found: 1996 - 23 nautical miles off the coast of Terengganu
- Type: South China Sea Junk
- Items recovered: 100,00 ceramic items, 40% Chinese ceramics, 40% Si Satchanalai celadon and 20% Sukhotai underglaze ware.
Wanli
- Date sank: 1625
- Wreck found: 2004 - 6 nautical miles off the coast of Dungun,Terengganu
- Type: Portuguese carrack - become known by the name Wanli since the ceramics carried date from the reign of Emperor Wanli of China.
- Items recovered: Chinese blue and white porcelain from the Guangyinge Kiln site in Jingdezhen, China.
Royal Nanhai
- Date sank: 1460
- Wreck found: 1995 - in international waters 40 nautical miles off Kuantan on east coast Peninsular Malaysia. Illegal salvaging work by Sten Sjostrand and business partner Khalid Yusop in Nanhai Marine Archaelogy Sdn Bhd.
- Type: a mid 15th century South China Sea Junk
- Items recovered: 21,000 ceramics including some very early blue and white bowls from the Jinttai / Tienshn interrengnum period (1450-1464)
Xuande
- Date sank: 1540's
- Wreck found : 1996 - 39 nautical miles of Tioman Island
- Type: Nothing of the junk remained, presumed rotted away.
- Items recovered : 170 pieces of Chinese blue and white porcelain and 130 pieces of Si Satchanalai and Sukhotai underglaze ware buried under mud.
Risdam
- Date sank : 1 January 1727 during her third voyage to the Dutch East Indies
- Wreck found: 1984 - when Royal Malaysian Customs interrupted illegal treasure hunters (H.C. Besancon and Dutch East Indian Wreck Research Foundation.
- Location : 3 nautical miles from Mersing, Johor
- Type: owned by the Dutch East India Company (VOC)
- Items recovered: Tin ingots, elephant tusks, storage jars, Dutch bricks, sappanwood, lead ingots.
Azie
- Date sank: Unknown
- Wreck found: 1989 - Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson
- Believed to carry a cargo of gold valued at USD$50 million
- Items recovered: blue and white Chinese porcelain, jade and various type of artefacts.
La Paix
- Date sank: 28 November 1895
- Wreck found: 1993- attempts to discover this vessel failed.
- Type : A French ship sound to Bengal from China laden with horde of Chinaware.
Nassau
- Date sank: 18 August 1606 (Battle of Cape Rachado)
- Wreck found: 1993 Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson, N.S by Transea Sdn Bhd while undertaking a search of La Paix.
- Type: Dutch battleship
- Items discovered:500 artefacts of various descriptions including 15 cannons,shipping equipment, coins and ceramic shards.
Dom Duarte de Guerta
- Date sank: 18 August 1606 (Battle of Cape Rachado)
- Wreck found: 1993 at Port Dickson (13 km from Nassau) by Transea Sdn Bhd whence undertaking survey of Caroline (1816).
- Type: Portuguese fleet
Middleburg
- Date sank: 18 August 1606 (Battle of Cape Rachado)
- Wreck found: 1993, Port Dickson, NS (13 km from Nassau) by Transea Sdn Bhd whence undertaking survey for Caroline (1816)
- Type: Dutch fleet
Sao Salvador
- Date sank: 18 August 1606 (Battle of Cape Rachado)
- Wreck found: 1993, Port Dickson, NS (13 km from Nassau) by Transea Sdn Bhd whence undertaking survey for Caroline (1816)
Tanjung Simpang Mengayau
- Date sank: unknown
- Date found: 2003 - approximately 400 meter off Tanjung Simpang Mengayau in Kudat, Sabah
- Type: Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD).
- Items recovered: Chinese ceramics, Green-glazed bowls and dishes carved floral motifs (now housed at Sabah Museum).
Jade Dragon
- Date sank:
- Date found: shortly after the Tanjung Simpang shipwreck
- Type: Southeast Asian lashed lug vessel (Southern Song / Yuan Dynasty)
Nanyang
- Date sank: unknown
- Wreck found: Discovered during the survey operation for Royal Nanhai by Nanhai Marine Archaelogy Sdn Bhd in proximity of Royal Nanhai.
Rompin Wooden Boat
- Discovered : in 1902 - the first recorded discovery of a shipwreck -related site in Malaysia. Documented by W.L Abbot in 1907/
- Location: Ulu Rompin, Pahang
- Details: Primarily used by local indigenous communities (Orang Asli).
Perahu Pontian
- Discovered by I.H.N Evans in 1927
- Dates back to 3rd-5th century AD
- The early evidence of the "lashed-lug" (ikat dan Pasak) boat-building technology used by the Malays.
Kuala Selinsing Boat a.k.a Kelumpang Island Boat
- Discovered by I.H.N Evans in 1932,but the specific data came from G. de G. Sieveking in 1955.
- Research by scholars like Zuliskandar Ramli and Nik Hassan Shuhaimi (2012) suggests the site was inhabited between 200 BC and 1000 AD.
Sagor Boat
- Sagor Boat - discovered by a group of researchers from the University of Malaya in 1996 in Baling, Kedah.
- 3 boats were found in 3 different places, namely in Kg. Sungai Bemban, Kg. Sungai Ketil and Kg. Padang Pulai.
- It is believed to have been used around the 19th century AD.
Sungai Lang Boat
- Sungai Lang Boat: discovered in 1964 by a group of researchers from the Department of Museums and Antiquities in collaboration with the University of Malaya.
- Radiocarbon dating analysis has given a date of around 580 - 190 BC. (Mohd Rohaizat, Nik Hassan Shuhaimi and Zuliskandar Ramli, 2015: 144-150).
Twankoo Boat
- Twankoo Boat: In 1953, Gibson Hill and Sieveking studied 2 boats on the banks of the Johor River.
- It is assumed that the boats were Malay boats dating back to the 16th century AD.
- It was found that they were Chinese boats of the Twankoo type. (Sieveking, Paul and Gibson-Hill, 1954:224 -233)
Ranee
- The German steel ship sank on 14 March 1923 due to a collision with the Boribat Ship in the Sedeli Waters, Johor.
Pulau Melaka
- Discovered: First spotted in late 2020 by independent researched led by Dr. Dionysius Sharma.
- Location: Pulau Melaka (Bandar Hilir), buried in 3 meter deep in mangrove mud.
- Age: Radiocarbon dating : estimated to 13th century (1200-1300 AD).
- Type: ancient Malay aristocratic or Royal vessel.
- Items recovered: hundred of coins including from the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah and later Dutch VOC and Portuguese coins. Fragments of Ming and Qing Dynasty porcelain.
Kuala Lipis
- Appeared in January 2021 after massive floods receded in Kuala Lipis district.
- Believed to be 19th-century British steamship.
- Metal plated found with inscriptioon "Vivian & Sons" and the year 1824, a famous British copper-smelting firm based in Swansea, Wales.
- Items recovered:Chinese and European ceramics.
SS Amherst (Paloh Hinai Wreck)
- Date sank: 1901 - while traveling from Singapore to Kota Bharu.
- Surfaced in 2016 near Pekan, Pahang
- Location: Sungai Pahang near Kampung Tanjung Paloh Hinai.
- Archaelogist believed this is the SS Amherst, a 108-ton passenger steamship built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1886.
Bidong
- Discovered in 2012 by local fisherman, roughly 2 nautical miles from Pulau Bidong, Terengganu.
- A 16th century (roughly 1500-1550 AD)
- First scientific excavation led by local experts (Universiti Malaysia Terengganu), rather that international salvage companies.
- Type: believed to be Malay or Southeast Asia (Nusantara) origin.
- Item recovered: Thai Ceramics & Chinese porcelain
2. Best Wrecks for Scuba Diving
If you are a diver, these are the most accessible and popular sites.
| Wreck Name | Location | Depth | Best Known For... |
| Sugar Wreck | Perhentian Islands | 18m | A large cargo ship (90m long) that sank in 2000. Easy to explore for intermediate divers. |
| Katori Maru | Kuching, Sarawak | 22m | A WWII Japanese troopship sunk by a Dutch submarine. Covered in soft corals and schools of barracuda. |
| KM Sipadan | Mabul/Sipadan | 25-30m | A decommissioned navy ship sunk purposely to create an artificial reef. |
| Seven Skies | Anambas (Near Tioman) | 64m | An enormous supertanker. Due to its depth, it's mostly for technical divers. |
3. World War II ships
Some of the most famous wrecks in the world lie in Malaysian waters but are strictly protected as war graves.
- Atago Maru: Japanese Merchant vessel sunk off Miri, Sarawak on 28 November 1944.
- Awazisan Maru: Japanese troopship, bombed and sunk off the coast of Kota Bharu, Kelantan on 8 December 1941.
- Haguro: A Japanese Myoko-class Cruiser, sunk in the Straits of Malacca by gunfire and torpedoes from British Royal Navy destroyers on 16 May 1945.
- Hatsusaka: A Japanese Hatsusaka-class Minelayer, torpedoed by USS Hawkbill off Pulau Tenggol, Terengganu on 16 May 1945.
- HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Repulse: These British battleships were sunk by Japanese aircraft in 1941 off the coast of Kuantan/Pahang. They are considered sovereign British territory and diving is restricted.
- HMS Strategem: British S-class submarine that was sunk by Japanese Submarine near Batu Pahat, Johor on 22 November 1944.
- Japanese Shipwreck: Sank during World War II, found at Pantai Cendering,Terengganu.
- Kuma : Japanese Kuma-class light cruiser , torpedoed by HMS Tally-Ho off Penang on 11 January 1944.
- Kuroship Maru: Japanese tanker sunk as a target off Pulau Aur on March 1960.
4. Recent Incidents (2025-2026)
- MV Tung Sung (Dec 2025):A cargo ship that capsized in Sebuyau waters, Sarawak. Rescue operations were recently conducted for the missing crew.
- Langkawi Migrant Boat (Nov 2025): A tragic incident where a boat carrying approximately 90 people capsized near the Thai-Malaysian border.
Compiled by:
Hj Zulheimy Maamor
Lembah Keramat, KL
6/1/2026: 4.32 p.m
