KUANTAN: A group of armed pirates hijacked a Thai oil tanker in waters off Kuantan and made off with about 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel on June 23.
Asia News Network reported that the tanker, CP41, was boarded by pirates when it was en route from Singapore to the Songkhla province in southern Thailand.
The hijackers, who were equipped with guns and knives, had captured the captain and crew members during the incident before destroying communications equipment.
The men later proceeded to transfer the fuel into their ship and fled the scene.
The captain and crew members were left unharmed.
Thai navy’s Vice Admiral Pornchai Pinthong was quoted as saying that the robbery took place just after 9pm on Friday.
The tanker which was transporting some 3.8 million litres of diesel oil has returned to Thailand and is docked at Noo Island off Songkhla.
Meanwhile a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officer, who declined to be named, confirmed the hijacking incident saying the agency was only alerted about the hijack on Saturday (June24) night after the Thai Navy had informed the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Putrajaya.