Malasian Navy’s patrol vessel KD Terengganu is currently tailing the hijacked tanker MV Orkim Harmony, and is in communication with the vessel’s captain, Malaysia’s Chief of Navy Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said.
There are at least eight hijackers on board the vessel, armed with pistols and ‘parangs,’ and speaking with Indonesian accent, Aziz Jaafar said.
KD Terengganu is persuading the robbers on board to surrender. All 22 of the tanker’s crew members are reportedly unharmed.
The Malaysia-flagged Orkim Harmony, which had been missing since June 11, was detected today in Cambodian waters repainted and renamed to Kim Harmon.
As World Maritime News reported, Malaysia yesterday deployed five aircraft to help the thirteen vessels already searching for the tanker.
MT Orkim Harmony went missing 17 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Aur on June 11. The tanker’s crew members include 16 Indonesians, Malaysians, and Myanmar nationals.
World Maritime News Staff; Images: Super Lynx/Royal Malaysian Navy