The Malaysian navy has freed a tanker that was under the control of pirates for a day off Indonesia.
A group of 10 men armed with a pistol and machetes abandoned the 4,200-dwt Nautica Johor Bahru (built 2008) on Friday afternoon after a pursuit by navy boats.
The EA Technique vessel, with 19 crew, had been boarded in the Straits of Singapore in the early hours of Thursday en route from Malacca to Sibu.
The shipowner failed to get a response from the tanker on Friday morning and contacted the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), which deployed a helicopter to track the ship.
The vessel, which was carrying MYR 12m ($3.9m) of oil, was eventually found 85 nautical miles east of Pekan, Pahang.
Naval commander Mohamad Roslan Mohamad Ramli said the hijackers slowed down the tanker and switched off its lights when they realised that they were surrounded.
“Despite the darkness, we tracked a speedboat approaching the tanker from Pulau Jemaja. The hijackers were believed to have disembarked on the speedboat," he added.
“The tanker's captain Tang Ah Be then contacted the rescuers and told them the hijackers had fled with his crew's personal belongings and money,” he added.
Mohamad Roslan said the foreign hijackers were believed to have targeted the tanker's cargo.
“The hijackers even painted over the tanker's company logo and name to avoid detection,” he added.