A kelong (or kellong) is an offshore platform built predominantly with wood, which can be found in waters off

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Only a handful remain around

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

due to rapid urbanisation. Kelongs are built by fishermen primarily for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

purposes, although larger structures can also function as dwellings for them and their families. Structurally, kelongs are often built without the need for nails, using ''

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

'' to bind tree trunks and wooden planks together. The decks of some kelongs have open spaces with nets that hang partially in the water, allowing for captured fish to be kept live until they are sold or cooked. Anchored into the sea bed using wooden piles of about 20 m in length and driven about six metres into the sea, they are usually sited in shallow water, although some can be found in deeper waters. Some kelongs are less isolated and are connected to land via a wooden gangway. Other variants of kelongs can be mobile, with some portion of the building floating freely. Some buildings are large, being made up of groups of kelongs joined together into a massive offshore community.

Singapore

Kelongs can be found in the northeastern coastal areas.

References

Architecture in Malaysia Architecture in Singapore Fishing in Asia Coastal construction Architecture in Indonesia Architecture in the Philippines Stilt houses {{Malaysia-struct-stub