Kuala Lumpur: Pirates who hijacked a Malaysian oil tanker last week in the South China Sea have escaped from the vessel in a lifeboat after being pursued by naval warships, leaving behind 22 crew, officials said on Friday.
An Indonesian cook on board the MT Orkim Harmony oil tanker sustained a gun shot while others were safe, Navy chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar said in Kuala Lumpur, adding that he was shot in the thigh.
Abdul Aziz said the oil tanker is sailing back to country's northern Kuantan port oil tanker, escorted by a Navy ship and is expected to arrive at the port by 2 AM on Saturday.
He said the eight pirates, believed to be Indonesians, fled the ship on Thursday. Three navy ships and two helicopters are searching for the pirates who were armed with pistols and machetes, and spoke with Indonesian accents.
The oil tanker, carrying 7.5 million liters of gasoline worth $5.7 million, was headed to Kuantan when communications were lost on June 11. The crew comprises 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar national.
It was scheduled to arrive at the Kuantan Port at 10.30 AM the following day but communications with the ship was lost at 8.57 PM. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it was notified at 6.30 AM the next day that the tanker was missing. Authorities confirmed that MT Orkim Harmony had been repainted and renamed 'Kim Harmon' by the pirates.
Abdul Aziz has also tweeted pictures of the tanker. It was the second tanker hijack case in May. Another Malaysian tanker carrying diesel fuel was hijacked on June 4 in the same area and was released after its fuel was siphoned off by the pirates.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, Pirates have been particularly active near Indonesia's Bintan island and in the South China Sea. Southeast Asia alone witnessed 38 pirate attacks during January-March.
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