Maritime vessel hijacked in South China Sea

Armed pirates boarded a product tanker off Pulau Aur, Malaysia and took crew members hostage, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Piracy Reporting Centre.    A product tanker was hijacked by pirates off Pulau Aur, Malaysia June 4, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Piracy Reporting Centre.
   The armed individuals took crew members hostage and altered the course of the tanker to meet up with another vessel to which oil was then transferred. IMB said the pirates stole crew and ship property and damaged the vessel’s communication equipment before departing the vessel.
   The crew has been declared safe and the vessel sailed to a safe port.
   Multiple news sources have reported the hijacked vessel was the Orkim Victory, a 7,100-ton dwt oil tanker operated by Orkim Ship Management in Malaysia.
   Maritime publication Splash said the KM Mutiara, a timber carrier, is also believed to have been hijacked June 3 east of Palau Bangka Island, Indonesia. This report, still under investigation, had not been confirmed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Piracy Reporting Centre by AS Daily’s noon press time.