Their leader, Lieutenant Mohd Hidir Yusof, said they had depended only on the bottled water they brought to satiate their hunger after the boat ran out of fuel and its communication equipment broke down.

“On the first and second day, the water supply was still sufficient, but on the third day, I took the decision to ration water as we were left with only another eight to ten 500ml bottles.

“We only drank three times a day, morning, afternoon and night to prolong our supply. If we were not found in the next few days, I do not know what would have happened,” he said when met by reporters at RMN’s Tanjung Gelang base here today.

Mohd Hidir and the eight crew members were earlier received by RMN chief Admiral Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin upon their arrival at the base.

Also present to receive the crew members were RMN’s Maritime Region 1 (MAWILLA 1) commander Rear Admiral Mohd Redza Mohd Sany as well as the family members of the crew.

It was a teary scene as the crew members met their loved ones after their safe return.

Relating the incident on Saturday, Mohd Hidir said they had been in an operation to chase away 10 foreign fishing boats found intruding into national waters.

“We split up with KD Perdana (the mother ship) as they were chasing five fishing boats, while we were assigned to clear the remaining boats. As there were so many fishing boats, we were confused.

“Not long after that, our boat radio broke down and the boat ran out of fuel three hours later, causing us to drift into the open sea where fishing boats and merchant ships seldom pass by,” he said.

They also expressed their relief over being found by a cargo vessel yesterday evening.

Leading Rate Zulhusni Sherhutdin, 25, said after they ran out fuel, they tried to paddle with their hands when they saw what appeared to be land, believed to be Pulau Aur, on the first night.

“But the following day, the island had disappeared and we found ourselves in the middle of the ocean. Then we could only pray for our safety,” he said.

For Zulhusni’s father, Sherhutdin Omar, 57, no words could describe his joy on seeing his son alive, and he was elated when he received a call informing him that his son had been found.

Sherhutdin also expressed his appreciation to the parties involved in the search and rescue operation over the past three days.