Asia/Pacific News
July 4 Bunker Pirate Attack: 2.5M Litres of MGO Stolen off Malaysian Coast
New information about a pirate attack off the Malaysian coast on July 4 shows that about 2.5 million litres of marine gas oil (MGO) was stolen, industry news site Tradewinds reports.
New details released by the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre also show weapons being fired multiple times during the attack.
The pirates used a small fishing vessel to approach the MGO tanker Moresby 9.
"The crew reportedly heard a gunshot and suddenly nine robbers armed with machetes and three pistols were sighted on the deck of the Moresby 9," ReCAAP said.
"The perpetrators gathered the crew at the starboard bridge wing and then tied and locked them in the engine room."
The attackers made the chief engineer and bosun start the ship's engine and pump so that fuel could be siphoned into an orange tanker that was brought alongside the vessel.
Robbers also stole the ship's navigation and communications equipment and crew belongings and damaged the anchor windlass and steering systems.
Local piracy specialists have pointed to the attack as an example of an upswing in hijackings in Southeast Asia this year.
