The product tanker that went missing since last Thursday off the Malaysian coast has been found in Cambodian waters, local reports said.
The tanker, Orkim Harmony, has also been repainted from blue to black and renamed Kim Harmon, reports quoted Abdul Aziz Jaafar, Malaysia’s chief of navy, as saying.
“We have found the vessel and RMAF, MMEA and RAAF aircraft are tailing it from the air,” he told local media Bernama, referring to the Malaysian airforce and maritime enforcement agency, and the Royal Australian Air Force.
The 7,300-dwt product tanker was hijacked on 11 June about 30 nm from the Johor port of Tanjung Sedili, carrying around 6,000 tonnes of petrol worth MYR21m ($5.6m) belonging to Petronas.
Malaysian authorities had stepped up efforts to find Orkim Harmony, deploying aircrafts and vessels as well as widening the search area.
Earlier this month, Orkim Harmony’s sister vessel Orkim Victory was siphoned off 770 metric tonnes of diesel oil in the vicinity, when it was attacked by pirates.
The Orkim Harmony is operated by Malaysia’s Orkim Ship Management. There are a total of 22 crew onboard the ship, consisting of 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar national, reports said.
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