KUALA LUMPUR, Sun. - The first Malaysian research vessel with local scientists on board is expected to set sail for the South China Sea early next year.

 
Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding told the New Straits Times that the two-week expedition to the Layang-Layang area off Sabah would mark the first national foray into oceanography and the start of a long-term programme in oceanographic studies.

 
He said it was important for Malaysia, which was developing its biotechnology industry, to establish its capacity in oceanographic research and development.

 
The ministry's National Oceanography Directorate (NOD) had identified the need for Malaysian scientists to have their own research vessels, instead of renting space aboard commercial ships as was the old practice.

 
The NOD also wanted to streamline oceanographic activities by local universities as the oceans were on the Government's list of Intensification of Research in Priority Areas.

 
Law said the expedition would be anchored by Universiti Sains Malaysia through its Centre for Coastal and Marine Studies.

 
The NOD was funding the expedition, including the cost of refitting the ship, a former tuna fishing training vessel, for research purposes. The refurbishing works were being done by the ship's owner, Halim Mazmin Bhd.

 
NOD director Prof Dr Ho Sinn Chye said the vessel would depart from Penang and sail down the Straits of Malacca through the Johor Straits before turning north towards Layang-Layang through the South China Sea.

 
Researchers on the first expedition will include 15 scientists from USM, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti of Malaya, Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia. The two weeks at sea will be spent collecting samples and analysing them on board.

 
"The NOD expects them to publish scientific papers on their findings and to do some bio-prospecting for marine resources that can be used in biotechnology," Ho said in an interview.

 
He said the South China Sea was globally acknowledged as "the epicentre for marine biodiversity".

 
"It has a high diversity of marine life, especially corals. It is literally our backyard, so Malaysia is keen to keep an inventory of marine life there and do some bioprospecting," he said.

 
The South China Sea is rich in fishing grounds and oil deposits. Parts of it are the subject of overlapping territorial claims by several countries in the region.

 
Ho said the two-week expedition was the first phase of the NOD's oceano-graphic research programme.

 
Plans for longer and farther trips, besides the development of other oceano-graphic activities, are in the pipeline.

 
Ho added that expeditions on the Government's research vessel would be opened to scientists from all institutions to encourage collaborative research.

 
He also said the co-operation amongNOD, USM and Halim Mazmin was exemplary of the kind of partnerships the Government wanted to see between the public or private sectors and institutions of higher learning.

 
The NOD was established in November 2000 to spearhead and co-ordinate marine science and oceanographic R&D.

The ocean impacts human life in many ways, including climate, food and fuel supply and pharmaceuticals.

The NOD has identified eight priority research areas within oceanography for Malaysian scientists.

 
They are ocean and coastal dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interaction, seabed research, alternative energy sources, marine ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation, new uses of living marine resources, instrumentation development and hydroinformatics and oceanographic data management.