A boat ferrying around 15 people from Malaysia to Indonesia capsized in rough seas off the port of Tawau on the Indonesian island of Sabah, with only two survivors found so far, said Malaysian maritime authorities.

The two survivors, a husband and wife, said the incident occurred on Tuesday night, but locals only reported it to the Malaysian maritime agency a day later.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement late on Wednesday that it had launched a search and rescue operation, but that the 24 hour delay in being notified would make the search difficult.

"It is feared that 13 victims including the skipper and a baby has drowned. Search and rescue efforts will be continued to find any survivors," said maritime territory director Mohd Zubil Mat Som.