The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre issued a special report on the hijacking of the tug Asta and the barge Callista (http://www.recaap.org/incident/pdf/special/2010/Special Report (Asta).pdf). An earlier report indicated that the tug and barge were probably hijacked on Feb. 6 off the coast of Malaysia while on a voyage from Singapore to Cambodia. Alerts were issued seeking information on these vessels. On Feb. 17, authorities located the barge. Also on Feb. 17, a liferaft was located in the South China Sea with eleven persons on board, believed to be the crew of the missing tug. The tug’s Chief Engineer was not on the liferaft and remains missing. (2/18/10).
(Source: Bryant’s Maritime News)