Singapore: Tanker loses gas oil cargo in hijack

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Singapore: Tanker loses gas oil cargo in hijack

By Hilary Chiew

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian-registered tanker was hijacked on Monday and had its 2,200 metric tonnes of gas oil siphoned off before it was released a day later.

The vessel, operated by Azam Forwarding and Trading Sdn Bhd and chartered to Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd, was intercepted by pirates near the Natuna Islands in Indonesian waters.

The 2,378-tonne mt Petchem left Port Dickson on Saturday and was due in Kuching on Tuesday.

The International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre said that the entire crew was locked up in the cabins and the vessel was taken to an unknown destination in the 2.30am hijack.

Its regional manager, Noel Choong, said the modus operandi was similar to a series of robberies in the South China Sea two years ago.

"It is too early to say if the same syndicate is targeting tankers.

"The pirates came prepared with another ship to do a ship-to-ship transfer and quickly vanished to sell off the cargo to ready buyers on surrounding islands who do not question the origin of the gas oil,'' he said in an interview.

The valuable gas oil in three separate tanks was unloaded while another tank containing jet fuel was left untouched.

According to industry sources, the name of the vessel was changed and the vessel was steered towards the south-east coast of Johor, near Tanjung Pengelih, where the cargo transfer took place.

The crew members were unharmed and managed to free themselves after the pirates fled.

The ship is in Singapore where the authorities there are conducting investigations.

The Malaysian Maritime Institute has urged the authorities to beef up enforcement to protect the vessels and their cargoes.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2000/9/28/nation/2806hrch&sec=nation

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 28, 2000


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