KUALA LUMPUR: All crew members of Malaysian oil tanker MT Orkim Harmony have been released by pirates at 2.30am today.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said one member of the tanker sustained slight injury.
The 22 crew members on board the merchant vessel are made up of 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar.
They are expected to arrive at Kuantan port at 2am (Saturday) tomorrow.
Royal Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Azizi Jaafar said the hijackers had escaped using the ship’s rescue boat.
Abdul Aziz on his Twitter account said that the eight hijackers are believed to made their getaway from the ship between 8.15pm-8.30pm, Thursday night.
He said the vessel’s last position when the hijackers escaped was 165 nautical miles North, North east of Gong Kedak, Jertih, Terengganu.
A P3 Orion, C 130 and Beechcraft planes are currently tracking the escaped pirates.
The navy also has assigned three ships and two helicopters to the search.
On the injured crew, Abdul Aziz said the cook from Indonesia was shot in his thigh on June 11.
The tanker carrying 6,000 tonnes of petrol worth RM21 million, was reported missing since Thursday while on the way from Malacca to Kuantan Port, Pahang.
The tanker, which authorities confirmed to be MT Orkim Harmony, has been repainted and renamed ‘Kim Harmon’ by the hijackers.
More to follow.