The One Fathom Bank and lighthouse history in the Malacca Strait

Introduction

The approaches to the Klang estuary on the Malacca Strait are plagued by dangerous sandbanks and have caused many shipwrecks over the centuries. Submerged just below the surface (hence the name “One Fathom Bank”) they are easy to miss, especially in bad weather. Various measures, described here, have been taken to protect shipping, beginning in the 1850s, but ships even today get into difficulty. One of the lighthouses (above left) has been preserved as part of Malaysia’s heritage.

One Fathom Bank

The so-called One Fathom Bank (Permatang Sedepa) is the most dangerous hazard for shipping in the Malacca Strait. Located off the West coast of Malaysia, adjacent to the Klang archipelago on the Selangor coast, it occupies an area approximately 35 kilometres by 10 kilometres in an area where the Strait is at its most narrow and shallow.

The submerged bank, positioned across the most direct shipping route into the Klang River estuary has made navigation in the area a nightmare for centuries especially during storms. Thousands of ships have been wrecked on the sandbanks with the loss of countless lives. One writer describes the area as exceedingly dangerous : “This is the spot most fruitful of accidents of any in the Straits”.

According to writer R.Rowlett, the existence of the sandbank was first reported in the mid-nineteenth century by John Turnbull Thomson, a government engineer employed by the East India Company, who first came to Malaya in 1838. Based in Singapore, he was appointed Government Surveyor and later Head of Public Works with his greatest achievement being the construction of the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the Eastern entrance to the Singapore Straits situated on the island of Pedra Branca, Singapore’s oldest lighthouse and the first constructed of stone in South East Asia.

Early measures to safeguard shipping

In response to Thomson’s report on the dangers of the sandbanks the East India Company decided to take steps to protect shipping in the area. In 1852 a lightship called the torch, which was situated in the Hooghly River estuary in Bengal, was moved to the Malacca Strait and positioned in the area.

However, with the expansion of tin mining in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the increase in shipping using Klang’s port for export of the ore it was clear that further measures were necessary to protect shipping in the area. To replace the lightship a new lighthouse was constructed using the “screw-pile” technology and was completed in 1874, since demolished.

The “Old Lighthouse” of 1907

By the start of the twentieth century concerns were being raised about the condition of the lighthouse, one correspondent describing it as being in a shaky condition. Furthermore, complaints were published stating that the flash of only once per minute could easily be missed in bad weather, and that its height was inadequate limiting its range, recommending it be extended by forty-five feet.

As a result, the Government decided to seek the expert views of the marine community and approached the Crown Agents who instructed the Elder Bretheren of Trinity House in London, a charitable body committed to safeguard shipping throughout the world, to investigate the matter. Designs were drawn up and estimates prepared.

The design chosen, and the lighthouse which we can still see today, was 89 feet high built on a circular arrangement of piles. It has an octagonal structure of two stories containing the keeper’s accommodation and a cast-iron tower which supports the lantern, gallery and watchroom. Instead of flashing once per minute, the new light (of the second order) flashed four times every fifteen seconds. Originally it was painted in red and grey stripes which has today been replaced by a white colour scheme.

As a “screw-pile” lighthouse, it stands on iron piles screwed into the seabed, one central pile and eight perimeter piles, hence its octagonal shape. These were embedded by a capstan or spinning drum worked by a large group of men. The estimate for the new lighthouse was $132,000 and work commenced on 15th July, 1904, being completed after much delay in 1907.

The “New Lighthouse” of 1999

The Old Lighthouse appears to have served mariners well for it continued in use until 1999. In that year a state of the art lighthouse was constructed at a cost of RM18 million to improve navigation further. Built just a few hundred metres from its predecessor, the old and the new can be seen side by side. Since then, the Old Lighthouse has not been used and discussions took place at Government level as to what to do with the structure.

Restoration of the Old Lighthouse

In 2003, instead of dismantling the old lighthouse which served no purpose, the Malaysian Government decided to preserve it. According to Dr. A.G. Ahmad a sum of RM 3.36 million was made available and the restoration project was entrusted to several government departments; Department of Marine, Department of Public Works, and the Department of Museums and Antiquities.

As a result, the old One Fathom Bank Lighthouse (Rumah Api One Fathom Bank) still proudly stands today, a monument to nearly a century of faithful service to mariners, rightly recognised as an important part of Malaysian heritage, and preserved for future generations.