Asia/Pacific News
Armed Bunker Pirates Strike MT Oriental Glory Again, Steal 2,500 mt of Fuel Off East Malaysia
Singapore-based ReCAAP ISC says Malaysia-flagged tanker MT Oriental Glory Friday was hijacked by armed bunker pirates who siphoned off and stole about 2,500 metric tonnes (mt) of fuel, IHS Maritime 360 reports.
The incident took place 60 nautical miles (nm) northwest of Bruit Island, East Malaysia while Oriental Glory was en route to Tanjung Manis from Labuan.
At 06:00 hours local time six fishing vessels were said to have surrounded the tanker before 30 men boarded the vessel.
It was then taken 188 nm off Bruit Island where the syphoning operation took place.
The bunker pirates were said to have fled the scene with the stolen fuel, while the crew were taken to Tanjung Manis to assist with investigations.
The crew was said to have been unharmed during the ordeal, which was not the first incident of piracy to befall the 1993 built 2,954 dwt tanker.
On July 15, 2014, 25 men armed with pistols and machetes also boarded the vessel 44.5 nm northeast of Pulau Bintan, Indonesia, siphoned 2,500 mt of marine gas oil, and stole MYR15,000 ($4,200) in cash.
On November 12, 2014, Oriental Glory's master was also said to have thwarted a boarding attempt after detecting a suspicious vessel by raising the alarm, mustering the crew, and carrying out evasive maneuvers.
Friday's incident marked the seventh fuel siphoning case reported since January 2015, according to Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).
The latest ReCAAP report says that in April 2015 a total of 17 incidents were reported in Asia, of which 14 were armed robbery against ships, two were piracy incidents, and one was an attempted incident.
