<![CDATA[The maritime knowledge of the Orang Laut constitutes a form of Traditional Ecological Knowledge developed through prolonged interaction with marine environments. Modernization, navigational technologies, and coastal environmental change have increasingly shaped its continuity. This study examines the transformation of Orang Laut maritime knowledge in Kawal Village, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands Province, from 1970 to 2025, focusing on shifts in navigation systems, drivers of transformation, and intergenerational knowledge transmission. Employing an oral history method, the study draws on in-depth interviews with three Orang Laut descendants who remain actively engaged in seafaring. The evidence was verified through source criticism, supplemented by relevant literature, and interpreted through historical anthropology and the conceptual framework of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The findings demonstrate that the Global Positioning System has not displaced traditional navigation; rather, it has fostered knowledge hybridization by integrating readings of stars, currents, winds, seasons, and marine biota with modern navigational technology. However, coastal environmental change and weakening intergenerational transmission have contributed to the erosion of traditional ecological knowledge. The study argues that this transformation represents an adaptive negotiation between tradition and modernity, enriching the maritime historiography of the Orang Laut.]]>
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