The sister vessel of a Malaysian registered product tanker hijacked by bunker pirates off Malaysia earlier this month has gone missing.
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre reports that it received notification from the shipowner that communication has been lost with MT Orkim Harmony. The ship’s last known known position was approximately 17 nm southwest of Pulau Aur, Malaysia and that the last communication was 11 June 2015 at about 2054 hrs.
Orkim Harmony is carrying 6,000 metric tonnes of ULG 95 (petrol) and has crew comprising Indonesians, Malaysians and Myanmar nationals onboard, ReCAAP said.
Coincidentally, Orkim Harmony’s sister vessel, Orkim Victory, was targeted by pirates on 4 June 2015 in the approximately 15.2 nm southwest of Pulau Aur. In that incident, the pirates were able to siphon off 770 metric tonnes of Automotive Diesel Oil (ADO).
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Indonesian Navy have reportedly deployed patrol boats to search for Orkim Harmony and ReCAAP requests all vessels to look out for missing tanker and to report sighting of the vessel to the nearest coastal State.
Both Orkim Harmony and Orkim Victory are owned by Malaysia’s Orkim Group.