Tanker Hijacked off Malaysia

zoom A group of armed pirates hijacked a product tanker on Thursday, June 4th while underway some 8 nautical miles south west off Pu Aur, Malaysia. The pirates took hostage of all crew members, altered the ships course and sailed the vessel until it rendezvoused with another vessel into which part of the oil cargo was transferred and stolen, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s piracy reporting centre informs. The unnamed tanker by the IMB is believed to be Malaysian-flagged 7,119 dwt product tanker Orkim Victory. Before departing, the pirates damaged the vessels communication equipment and stole the crews valuables. According to IMB, all crew are reported to be safe and the tanker has sailed into a safe port. This is the tenth tanker hijacked by pirates this year. The piracy reporting center also informed of a bulk carrier being boarded by pirates west of Patenga, Bangladesh on June 1st. As reported, five robbers armed with knives boarded an anchored bulk carrier with a rope ladder and tried  to attack the crew watchmen. However, the crew managed to raise the alarm that scared off the pirates who escaped the ship with stolen ship’s properties. World Maritime News Staff