Asia/Pacific News
Bunker Pirates Hijack Tanker Carrying 1,100mt of Diesel
An Indonesia-flagged chemical tanker Wednesday was hijacked off the country's North Sulawesi coast, according to Singapore's Information Fusion Centre and ReCAAP's Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC), IHS Maritime 360 reports.
The MT Rehobot is reported to have been carrying 1,100 tonnes of diesel when the ship was boarded by eight armed men at close to midnight local time on January 28.
The 14 crew were cast off unharmed in the vessel's life raft and were picked up by Indonesian authorities in the vicinity of Indonesia's Lembeh islands on Saturday, January 31.
As yet, it is understood that no ransom has been issued for the ship and no organised crime syndicates have claimed responsibility for the hijacking.
Indonesian authorities are said to be investigating and ReCAAP ISC has appealed to the shipping community to keep a lookout for the missing tanker.
Hijackers of Malaysian chemical tanker, Sun Birdie, which went missing last week, were Thursday detained after being found by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
In January, ReCAAP reported that for 2014 incidents of fuel and oil syphoning rose in Asia, with at least three organised groups involved in perpetrating the robberies.
