Sailor Shot in the Neck by Pirates Off Malaysia

Dryad Maritime has reported that 7 armed Indonesians boarded the anchored product tanker MT Ji Xiang around 2 nautical miles south of Teluk Ramunia, Johor, Malaysia at 2240 on Friday, 25 July.

During the attack, one of the sailors on board was shot in the neck and the crew’s personal belongings and cash were stolen.

Ian Millen, Chief Operating Officer, Dryad Maritime provided comment on this latest incident:

“Although the details of this latest attack in the vicinity of Singapore have not yet fully emerged, it is possible that we may have seen yet another attempt at fuel cargo theft.  The good news is that presence of local forces thwarted the criminals, but the bad news is that a crew member was shot in the course of the attack and is now in hospital.  We have seen seven confirmed hijacks in the area since March this year and two of these, MT Orapin 4 and MT Oriental Glory were hijacked approximately 10 nautical miles to the west of this latest incident in May and July.  As with so many other incidents, the criminals have escaped justice for now.  The organised criminals behind these crimes need to be tackled at source.  Only then will the seas around Singapore become safer for the crews of regional product tankers.”

The injured sailor is recovering at a hospital.

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