 There she was employed in carrying out oceanographic and hydrographic surveys around the coasts of Malaya, Borneo, and Hong Kong, in the South China and Java Seas, with regular annual refits at Hong Kong, and inspections at Singapore.On 5 October 1967 "Dampier" finally left Singapore to return to the UK, arriving at Simon's Town, South Africa, on 17 November.A week later, after local exercises, it was discovered that the ship's starboard propeller shaft was broken.