KOTA KINABALU, Oct 8 — Malaysia’s navy top brass pledged today to investigate how its CB204 combat boat on patrol off Sabah’s west coast last Sunday had suddenly disappeared.

While the gunboat was subsequently found and returned to the naval base here today, Region Two navy commander Rear-Admiral Datuk Mohammad Rosland Omar said an inquiry board will look to determine if the disappearance was caused by a flaw in its systems or human or procedural errors.

“This is important to find out what went wrong in this incident.

“There will be disciplinary action if it is found to be a result of human error. And if there is a flaw in the SOP, it will have to be reviewed and adjusted to prevent it from happening again,” Rosland told reporters at Sepanggar navy base here.

He also said the inquiry board will comprise of up to five senior navy officers.

The CB204 was on its way to the Malaysian-owned Station Uniform naval base, near the disputed Spratly Isles, when the combat boat lost contact with its escort ship, KD Paus, at about 11.15am on Sunday.

The loss of contact was reportedly caused by a mix-up over radio frequencies.

The CB204 returned to the Sepanggar naval base here at 12.50pm today, accompanied by another gunboat, the CB211 and two fast-attack vessels, KD Ganas and KD Lekiu.

Five of CB204’s remaining crew onboard, Lt-Commander Azri Bakar, Ince Evin, Nor Azuan Ariffin, Sulhajji Daah and Mohd Azhry Maani, were greeted warmly with hugs, handshakes and a welcome home banner by their families, other navy members and Rosland.

Its two other crew members, Steve Hudson and Charles Christopher Mani, who sustained injuries aboard the CB204, were flown in for medical treatment last night by the Super Lynx military helicopter.

Despite being lost for 28 hours, CB204’s captain Lt-Commander Azri said he and his men were always confident that the navy would find their ship despite the circumstances of technical faults and weather conditions.

He said the engine had stalled due to the bad weather, narrating how his crew tried to fix it twice but eventually gave up.

He also narrated how the steering gears then malfunctioned, which meant the crew could not steer themselves towards their destination and drifted some 30 nautical miles east off Station Uniform.

“But I tried keeping morale up by reminding the crew that we needed to stay strong and return home to our families who were waiting for us,” Lt-Commander Azri said.

He said they were occupied with bailing out water that had entered their boat and sustained themselves on a loaf of bread and pears.

 Lt-Commander Azri said it was his first time in command of the CB90 vessel after his last post as navigating officer of the KD Ganas.

 His wife, Lt-Commander Fazilah Makun, 39 — eight months’ pregnant with the couple’s first child — said she was fearful for her husband’s safety but tried to stay composed for their baby’s sake.

She said she was also mindful that her husband and his men were more than capable of surviving, having undergone training.

“I was most worried when I got the phone call informing me of the loss of communications on Sunday and tried to stay calm and have faith in their abilities,” she said.

“It was such a relief to see him with my own eyes here,” she added.

Wife of Petty Officer Steve Hudson, who was injured, said she had initially feared the worst when she received a phone call informing her that they had flown her husband in early.

“But thankfully, when I got to the hospital here, he still had the energy to joke with me asking if he looked handsome in his picture in the media,” Mely Simon said.

Hudson sustained injuries from an electric shock on board the boat and was unconscious and frothing at the mouth when he was rescued, she said.

Ahaine Maidin, wife of Petty Officer Sulhajji Daah said that she was almost sick with worry the day they told her her husband’s ship was missing, but said her son had the confidence that his father would return.

“I told him and he said ‘Abah is strong, he knows how to come back, right?,’ I almost broke down then,” said the schoolteacher as she wiped away tears.

“I’m just so relieved that he’s back home now. He is the backbone of our family,” she said.