| MTOrkim Harmony hijacking | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofPiracy in the Strait of Malacca andPiracy in Indonesia | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Other aid/standby forces: | Indonesian pirates[3][4] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Abdul Aziz Jaafar Ahmad Puzi Adam Steff Peter Knox Doãn Bảo Quyết Nguyễn Quang Đạm Ngô Ngọc Thu | Ruslan[9]  | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
4 ships | 1tanker 8pirates[10] 1lifeboat | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 8 captured[7][11] | ||||||
| 1 hostage injured[12] | |||||||
  | |||||||
On 11 June 2015, eightIndonesian pirates hijacked theMTOrkim Harmony, a Malaysian tanker, in theSouth China Sea. The crew and the tanker were freed and recovered on 19 June near the southwest ofPhú Quốc in Vietnam with the joint efforts ofRoyal Malaysian Navy,Royal Malaysian Air Force,Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency,Royal Australian Air Force,Vietnam Border Guard,Vietnam Coast Guard,Indonesian Navy andRoyal Thai Navy.[5][6][1][2][13]
Before the hijacking of MTOrkim Harmony, another oil tanker namedMTOrkim Victory was hijacked by eight Indonesian pirates armed with two hand guns and aparang on 4 June in theSouth China Sea. The hijackers took the tanker to around 12.2nautical miles offAur Island where they pumped the oil (about 770 metric tonnes ofdiesel) into another tanker before releasing theOrkim Victory. The pirates damaged all communication equipment and robbed the crew members of their personal belongings. All the pirates managed to escape unhurt.[14][15]
Communication with MTOrkim Harmony was lost on 11 June at 8:54 p.m.MST (UTC+08:00) during its way fromMalacca toKuantan Port in the waters of Tanjung Sedili,Kota Tinggi, Johor at2°8.90′N104°27.30′E / 2.14833°N 104.45500°E /2.14833; 104.45500.[3][16] During the hijack, a crew of 22 was on board the tanker including 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar national.[17] The tanker was loaded with 6,000 metric tonnes ofpetrol worth around 21 millionringgit (US$5.6 million).[17] All the eight hijackers were armed with pistols andparangs.[3][10]
On 12 June, theMalaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) started to search for the tanker in South China Sea in an area of 50,000 square kilometres after it lost contact for 10 hours. Malaysian authorities believed the tanker could have been hijacked and taken to nearby Indonesian islands ofNatuna andAnambas.[17] On 17 June, aRoyal Australian Air ForceAP-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft, flying fromRMAF Butterworth in Malaysia's northernPenang state, spotted the missing tanker in theGulf of Thailand within the Cambodian-Vietnamese maritime border. According to them, the tanker had been repainted from blue to black and renamedKim Harmon.[5][6][13][18] However, theRoyal Cambodian Navy could not confirm the reports and gave a green light for joint operation with Malaysia to track and intercept the tanker in Cambodian waters.[19] The MMEA then contacted theVietnam Coast Guard (VCG) to inform the news and, upon receiving the information, the VCG deployed two patrol ships to the area. Both the Malaysian andRoyal Thai Navy (RTN) were also put on standby. Subsequent information by the VCG reported that the tanker was located at9°21′N102°44′E / 9.350°N 102.733°E /9.350; 102.733 approximately 84 nm southwest ofPhú Quốc in Vietnam.[note 1]
In reaction to the Australian report,Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and MMEA vessels, who were put on standby, were deployed to the area and, on 19 June, the tanker was spotted at9°10′N103°10′E / 9.167°N 103.167°E /9.167; 103.167.[note 1] The pirates on board the tanker instructed them to retreat for about five nautical miles (9 kilometres) from the tanker, and threatened to kill the crew's families if the tanker's captain leaked the pirates' plan to leave the tanker to the Malaysian authorities.[11][20] The pirates also were "practically begging" the Malaysian authorities to let them go and continue their "journey" until they reached Natuna Island.[21] After some negotiations, all the pirates managed to escape on an Orkim'srescue lifeboat. The RMN and MMEA successfully secured the tanker at 12:50 a.m. MST, with all members of the crew in safe condition except for one person who was injured in histhigh after being shot by the pirates.[note 1][12][22]
Some hours later, eight Indonesians who were suspected as the pirates were seen nearThổ Chu Island and as they were approached by theVietnam Border Guard (VBDF) and VCG,[22][23] the Indonesians claimed they were from a fishing boat that sank.[8][13] The MMEA then started an investigation on the matter and co-operating with theVietnamese government through the Attorney-General's office and theForeign Affairs Ministry to bring all the suspects to Malaysia.[24] The eight were confirmed to be the hijackers after being identified by the injured crew, who were shown photographs of the men,[25] as well with the pirates' confession during interrogation by Vietnamese authorities when they were shown images and information provided by Malaysian authorities.[26] Malaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak and Home MinisterAhmad Zahid Hamidi expressed their gratitude to all parties involved in ensuring the safe release of all 22 crew members and the capturing of pirates. They also submitted a request for extradition of the hijackers to Malaysia from Vietnam and Indonesia.[7][27]
Further investigation by Vietnamese authorities concluded that the pirates were not amateurs, but "seasoned criminals" based on how they conducted their motives by switching offAutomatic Identification System (AIS) to operate their crime undetected and how they were found with wads of cash on their lifeboat when detained by VBDF and VCG. MMEA's investigation also revealed that there are another five perpetrators (bringing the total to 13) who were involved in the hijacking by using atugboat to approach the tanker and that all of them had escaped toBatam, Indonesia where the tugboat was found by the Indonesian navy on 21 June.[28][29] The tugboat has been identified asMeulaboah and was found abandoned near Seloko Island off Batam by the Indonesian Navy's Western Fleet Command's (KOARMABAR) Quick Response team. Eight pirates who had been caught earlier in Vietnam has admitted the tugboat was used as their transportation.[30] On 31 August, KOARMABAR arrested the alleged mastermind known as Albert Yohanes who living in an apartment inGrogol Petamburan,West Jakarta, Indonesia.[31] The MMEA has been informed over the arrests and will send a representative to help Indonesian authority to solving the case.[32]
On 12 September 2016, after almost a year after the incident, the Vietnamese high court finally approved the Malaysian request for extradition, while rejecting a similar request from the Indonesian government.[33] On 27 November, all suspects arrived onSenai International Airport ofJohor through a specialchartered flight by MMEA from an airport inHanoi.[34] The Malaysian court sentenced all suspects to 15 and 18 years in prison with all pleading guilty.[35]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2015 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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2°8.90′N104°27.30′E / 2.14833°N 104.45500°E /2.14833; 104.45500
