Malaysia rescues hijacked tanker

October 29th, 2011 - 11:25 pm ICT by IANS  

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 29 (IANS) Malaysian Navy and maritime police rescued an oil tanker from armed pirates near the straits of Singapore, authorities said Saturday.

The tanker, carrying 12 million ringgit ($3.91 million) worth of oil and gas cargo, was rescued Friday after the Malaysian authorities were alerted by the shipping company which failed to contact the tanker, reported Xinhua.

According to local daily the Star, the tanker was hijacked by the pirates early Thursday.

The Malaysian tanker MT Nautica Johor Bahru had 19 crew on board.

It was en route to Malaysia’s east peninsular Sarawak state from Melaka, north of Singapore.

The Malaysian Navy said it thwarted the hijack attempt after it was given clearance by Indonesia’s Sea Security Coordinating Board to pursue the vessel in Indonesian waters.

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