Tanker missing

Concerns grow over missing tanker.

Tanker missing in Java sea hijacked?

Jan 7: Product tanker NAMSE BANGDZOD on Jan 7 was declared missing, by Indonesian Maritime Authorities, since Dec 28. Tanker with 12 crew, loaded with palm oil, left Sampit, southern Kalimantan, bound for Jakarta, exact date unknown. Contacts lost since Dec 28, she’s operated by Surabaya Shipping Lines. Large-scale search across Java sea didn’t yield any results yet, according to officials.
Strange thing is, ship’s AIS re-emerged on Marinetraffic.com on Jan 6, though track is rather hectic and kind of, confused. All other available AIS don’t have ship’s records since Nov-Dec.

Jan 9 UPDATE: No traces of tanker found so far, Marinetraffic.com emergence and disappearance of ship’s AIS track is not the only one mysterious track recorded by AIS systems, there were others, said Indonesian officials. The main version explaining tanker’s disappearance, as of now, is piracy – 12-crew tanker could be hijacked, for the purpose of stealing expensive cargo of crude palm oil. Massive search is ongoing.

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Source: maritimebulletin.net