M'sia on the hunt for pirates after tanker is hijacked

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia is hunting for a group of machete-wielding pirates who hijacked a tanker off its eastern coast, stealing a million litres of oil, in the latest in a spate of attacks in its waters, an official said on Thursday.

Pirates hijacked the Malaysia-registered tanker MT Budi Mesra Dua last Saturday off Bintulu in the oil-rich Sarawak state as the ship sailed from neighbouring Singapore.

"Ten machete-wielding pirates boarded the ship, which was carrying about a million litres of diesel. They took control of the tanker for about 10 hours," Mr Mohamad Sufi Mohamad Ramli, a local commander with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency told AFP.

The armed pirates siphoned off the diesel fuel to another ship, robbed the crew of their valuables and destroyed communication equipment before escaping, he said. "We have activated 24-hour sea patrols around Bintulu waters (in the South China Sea) to prevent similar attacks. We are hunting down the pirates."

GMA Version..............................

Pirates hold Pinoy, 24 others hostage off Borneo

A Filipino crew member of a ship and his 24 colleagues were held hostage for 10 hours off Borneo by pirates who hijacked the vessel and stole the diesel it was carrying last weekend, a Malaysian news site reported Thursday.

The hijacking occurred off Bintulu in Sarawak in Malaysia last Saturday, according to a report on Malaysia's The Star Online.

Malaysian Enforcement Maritime Agency Labuan Enforcement Chief Captain Che Adnan Mohd Isa said the MT Budi Mesra Dua was hijacked for 10 hours while it was sailing from Singapore to Labuan.

Adnan said the crew included a Filipino, 18 Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Bangladeshis, and one Indian. None were harmed in the incident, he added.

The report said the ship was allowed to sail to Labuan "after being held captive for 10 hours.”

Citing initial information, Adnan said six men wearing masks and dark green overalls, armed with parangs and hammers, climbed aboard the ship at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

They reportedly tied up the crewmembers and confined them in a room.

Adnan said the men then ordered the captain and chief officer to stop the engine as a vessel approached it. The armed men pumped out 100 metric tons of diesel from the ship to their vessel.

The men also ransacked the ship and turned off its radar and navigation systems before fleeing with valuables. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News