MT Sunrise 689 (c) MarineTraffic.com
HANOI, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Pirates that captured a Vietnamese oil tanker last week after it left Singapore have released the vessel, the company that owns the ship said on Thursday.
Two of the tanker’s 18 crew have been injured and the pirates took part of its cargo of more than 5,000 tonnes of gas oil, said Nguyen Vu Diep, a manager at the Haiphong Sea Product Shipbuilding Co.
“Officers from Vietnam’s coast guard approached the ship and are escorting it to Phu Quoc island as two crew members have been injured,” said Diep. The island lies 40 km (22 nautical miles) west of Vietnam’s southwestern province of Kien Giang.
“One sailor was beaten and has a broken leg,” Diep said. “The crew was attacked by more than 10 armed pirates.”
The Sunrise 689 had vanished from radar 40 minutes after leaving Singapore on Oct. 2 when it was bound for Quang Tri province in central Vietnam.
Diep said the coast guard approached the ship after the pirates had left it.
The tanker was freed early on Thursday, according to the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) in Singapore. It said the tanker’s communication equipment had been destroyed.
There has been a series of piracy attacks in Southeast Asian waters this year, with at least 11 vessels hijacked in the Strait of Malacca or South China Sea since April, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh in Hanoi and Keith Wallis in Singapore; Editing by Joseph Radford)
(c) 2014 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 109,807 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
A 37-year-old crew member was saved after spending three harrowing days adrift at sea following alleged abuse aboard a fishing vessel. Afif Efendy, a crew member of the fishing vessel...
British oil and gas major Shell on Tuesday settled a London lawsuit it brought against environmental group Greenpeace after activists boarded a Shell oil production vessel last year.
Satellite imagery show that Russian naval ships have left Moscow's base at Tartous on Syria's coast and some have dropped anchor offshore following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
Sign Up
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 109,807 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
