Officials said the MT Orkim Harmony was sailing from Malacca to Kuantan when it disappeared on Thursday.
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) operation director (southern region) Ibrahim Mohamed said the fuel that weighed some 6,000 tonnes was worth around 15 million ringit.
The tanker had on board 22 crew members - 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar national.
The search area now covered 20,000 sq km from Tanjung Penawar in Kota Tinggi to Mersing as well as the maritime territories of Singapore and Indonesia, the official said.
Prime Minister Najib Razak expressed his concern for Orkim Harmony and its crew.
"I am distressed by the news of a missing Malaysian-owned tanker. I pray for the safety of the 22-strong crew of which 16 are Malaysians. My thoughts are with their families. The Government will deploy our resources to locate it," he said.
Earlier, in his Twitter account, Najib said the tanker was 'hijacked'.
[timesofindia.indiatimes.com]
15/6/15
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Related:
Missing Malaysian tanker located in Cambodian waters ...
ReplyDeleteA Malaysian oil tanker which went missing off the east coast of the Johor state on June 11 had been spotted in Cambodian waters, Malaysia's state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday.The Orkim Harmony with 22 crewmen on board disappeared en route from Malacca to Kuantan. It was carrying 6,000 metric tons of petrol when it lost contact around 8:50 p.m. local time (1250 GMT) at about 30 nautical miles of Tanjung Sedili east of Johor.
Malaysian Navy Chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said the tanker was detected from the air by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft.
"We have found the vessel and RMAF, MMEA and RAAF aircraft are tailing it from the air," he said, adding that the tanker had been repainted and renamed.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/927756.shtml
18/6/15