Oil tanker MT Orkim Harmony arrived safely at the Kuantan Port in Tanjung Gelang about 7am today (Saturday, June 20), nine days after it was hijacked by a group of pirates off Tanjung Sedili, Johor.
The vessel, which was carrying about 6,000 tonnes of Ron95 fuel worth RM21 million, was escorted to the port by Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) fast attack craft KD Handalan.
A spokesman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the vessel arrived at the port at 7.50am and berthed at the Petronas Pier.
RMN Commander of Marine Region 1, Rear Admiral Datuk Azhari Abdul Rashid has confirmed that the suspects detained by the Vietnamese authorities had been identified as the hijackers of oil tanker MT Orkim Harmony.
“Photos of the suspects had been scrutinized and confirmed by one of the crew member who was injured by the hijackers. “We can’t say at this point if the hijackers are professionals or amateurs. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is still investigating, including the possibility of a criminal syndicate behind the hijacking," he said.
A RMN officer said the tanker’s remaining 21 crews will be attended to by a team of navy medical officers as they disembark, before being going through an interrogation process by authorities probing into the incident.
The crewmen – 16 Malaysians, four Indonesians and a Myanmar national – will then be taken to a hotel nearby the port to rest.