Oil tanker hijacked in Southeast Asia

A second oil tanker has gone missing in Southeast Asia, the International Business Times reported yesterday.

The 7,300-deadweight tonne Petronas oil tanker Orkim Harmony is suspected to have been hijacked during the weekend off the east coast of Johor, Malaysia.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency earlier said yesterday in a statement that Orkim Harmony was sailing from the Malaysian state of Malacca to the state of Pahang when it disappeared.

The country has responded to the incident by mounting a 1,500-strong team to search for the missing oil tanker. It has also asked for support from neighbouring Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.

The oil tanker is thought to have unleaded petrol worth around $5.6 million and 22 crew members.

Attacks on merchant  vessels in Asia are on the up, according to data from the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. There were 80 actual and attempted pirate attacks in Asia from January to May 2015, an increase of nearly 20 percent compared with 67 during the same period in 2014, figures from the agency showed.

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