Malaysia Tracks Down Hijackers
The eight Indonesian nationals arrested by Vietnamese authorities and suspected of hijacking the Malaysia-flagged tanker Orkim Harmony confessed to the crime, says a report in The Straits Times.
Thirteen individuals were involved in the hijacking of the MT Orkim Harmony, with five remaining at large, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) confirmed.
The 2009-built, 7,301 dwt Orkim Harmony, which was carrying 6,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol from Malacca to Kuantan with 22 crew members, was hijacked on 11 June. The vessel is owned by Magna Meridian Sdn Bhd.
MMEA deputy director of operations Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said besides the eight that were arrested in Vietnam waters on Friday, there were another five individuals manning a tugboat used to approach MT Orkim Harmony.
The five individuals went separate ways in the tugboat, which was later found in Batam by the Indonesian navy. "The five are currently still at large. In the meantime, we are using all means to ensure the eight are extradited to Malaysia so we can question them further," said Datuk Ahmad Puzi.
He also said further investigations by Vietnamese authorities revealed that the suspects were not amateurs, but "seasoned criminals".
"Looking at how they conducted the robbery, switching off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) so they could go undetected and how they were found with wads of cash on board, it showed that they knew what they were doing," he said.
He added that Malaysia was doing everything it could to ensure the suspects are extradited as soon as possible.
According to anti-piracy watchdog ReCAAP, ‘very significant’ incidents including fuel syphoning have been on the rise in Southeast Asia throughout 2015. This year has already seen more severe incidents of piracy than all of 2011-2014 combined for the same period.
