{
  "id": 15689927,
  "title": "Malaysia to get 2 survey vessels to speed up seabed mapping",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/malaysia-to-get-2-survey-vessels-to-speed-up-seabed-mapping",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T03:10:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1559517/malaysia-get-2-survey-vessels-speed-seabed-mapping"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The National Hydrographic Centre (NHC) of Malaysia will receive two survey motor launches under the 2027 Budget to expedite seabed mapping in Malaysian waters, according to a statement from the Royal Malaysian Navy chief. Currently, the NHC only has one hydrographic survey vessel, making it challenging to cover the entire maritime domain. The two smaller vessels will primarily survey shallow waters, while deeper and open-water areas will be handled by the KD Perantau and chartered vessels. Survey motor launches are designed to map shallow coastal waters and areas that larger vessels may struggle to access, with the collected data used to produce nautical charts for safe navigation and maritime operations. Malaysia aims to complete seabed mapping before 2050, and the additional vessels are expected to accelerate the work, although chartered vessels will still be necessary to further speed up the process.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}