KUALA LUMPUR (The Star/Asia News Network, Reuters) - Nine Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) personnel missing since Saturday off Johor waters have been found safe.

Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin confirmed that their boat was spotted by a merchant ship, 90 nautical miles off Kuantan waters.

The Navy said the boat with an officer and eight personnel was patrolling the waters together with fast attack craft KD Perdana off Tanjung Sedili when both vessels lost communication with each other.

The crew lost contact with KD Perdana while chasing a foreign fishing boat.

A search-and-rescue operation involving navy assets, besides fishing and merchant vessels, was launched after the vessel went missing.

Southern Malaysian waterways, which border Indonesia and Singapore, include busy international shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds.

Overloaded migrant boats also ply the waters and occasionally run into trouble.