PIRATES hijacked 6,905-dwt Budi Mesra Dua, a Malaysian flagged products tanker Budi Mesra Dua off Bintulu in Sarawak, as the ship sailed from neighbouring Singapore, reported London's Tanker Operator.
"Ten machete-wielding pirates boarded the ship carrying a million litres of diesel. They took control for about 10 hours," Commander Mohamad Sufi Mohamad Ramli, of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency told Reuters.
The pirates siphoned off the diesel fuel to another ship, robbed the crew of their valuables and destroyed communication equipment before escaping, he reportedly said.
Pirates have attacked a number of vessels in waters off Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia recently. In April, pirates injured the captain and stole diesel fuel from a Thailand-owned tanker off the eastern Malaysia.
In the same month, three Indonesian crewmen were kidnapped and diesel fuel stolen from a Singapore-managed tanker in the Strait of Malacca.
The International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre urged maritime agencies in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to bolster security measures.
"In recent weeks, we have recorded five hijackings in the South China Sea and in Malacca Strait," the centre's head Noel Choong told Reuters. "In four of the cases, pirates stole the diesel and gas oil cargo."
PIRACY
16 June 2014 - 20:54
Pirates hijack tanker off, siphon off diesel, then sail away
PIRATES hijacked 6,905-dwt Budi Mesra Dua, a Malaysian flagged products tanker Budi Mesra Dua off Bintulu in Sarawak, as the ship sailed from neighbouring Singapore, reported London's Tanker Operator.
PIRACY
16 June 2014 - 20:54
Pirates hijack tanker off Sarawak, siphon off diesel, then sail away
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