Authorities confirm tanker hijack

ReCAAP confirms missing tanker was hijacked, cargo stolen. 

Authorities confirm tanker hijack

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) today confirmed that the Orapin 4, the tanker cited as missing last week was indeed hijacked by pirates. The ship’s last known position placed it approximately 3.64nm north of Pulau Batam, Indonesia, on May 27th and the vessel’s owners had not been able to contact it on May 28th.

The Thai-registered Orapin 4 was carrying 3,377 metric tonnes of diesel (ADF), and the report today from ReCAAP states that the hijackers boarded and stole the cargo, although exactly how much was taken is not revealed in the report. Before they left, the attackers disabled communications equipment and the ship finally arrived at Sriracha port, Chon Buri, Thailand at around 1930 LT on June 1st.

The investigation is ongoing and we will update you with further details as we receive them.

This is the second major cargo theft in the region in recent weeks.