Pirates have made off with at least a part cargo of oil after a Singaporean products tanker was hijacked on Saturday(8 August 2015).

A statement released by the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) indicates that the 3,500-dwt products tanker Joaquim (built 1995) has now been found and is back in the control of its crew although an unspecified amount of its cargo has been siphoned off.

The Joaquim was carrying 3,500 metric tons of fuel oil when contact with it was lost on Saturday afternoon. The vessel was approximately 29 nautical miles north of Pulau Rupat in the Strait of Malacca at the tme the hijacking took place. The vessel was en route from Tanjung Pinang in Indonesia to Pulau Langkawi in Malaysia.

The pirates appear to have left the ship on Sunday morning. The vessel was found approximately 13.7 nautical miles off Tanjung Keling in Malaysia. Malaysian authorities subsequently evacuated an injured crew member.

“According to the vessel’s ship management company, RTBS Consultants Pte Ltd, there were nine crew members onboard at the time of the incident. All crew members (a Singaporean and eight Indonesians) are accounted for. Oil cargo onboard the tanker was reported missing,” said the MPA in a statement.

Hijackings of small products tankers are commonplace in Southeast Asian waters, especially in waters close to Indonesia. The contents of the cargo tanks are the main objective of the pirates and the vessels are usually released after the oil has been stolen.

马六甲海峡劫持事件

上周六(2015年8月8日)，海盗在劫持一艘新加坡成品油轮后，携部分油品货物逃离。

新加坡海事和港口当局表示，建于1995年3500总吨的成品油轮Joaquim已被发现。尽管部分船载油品被抽走，且数量不明，但油轮已重返船员的控制。

上周六下午Joaquim轮失联时，船载燃油数量为3500吨。遭遇劫持地点为马六甲海峡鲁帕岛北部约29海里处。当时，油轮正处于由印尼丹绒槟榔市前往马来西亚兰卡威的途中。

目前信息显示，海盗于周日上午离船。油轮在距马来西亚Tanjung Keling海岸约13.7海里处被发现。马来西亚当局随即疏散一名受伤船员。

新加坡海事和港口当局表示：“从船舶管理公司RTBS Consultants Pte Ltd获悉，事件发生时，船上有9名船员，包括1名新加坡人和8名印尼人。据报告，船上燃油失窃。”

在东南亚，尤其是靠近印尼的水域，小型成品油轮遭遇劫持很常见。液货舱中的货物是海盗的主要目标，海盗在盗走燃油之后通常会释放船舶。