Tanker hijack: Puzzle grows in captain’s five-hour wait to sound alarm after pirates flee

PETALING JAYA — The Royal Malaysian Navy is baffled over the five-hour delay by the captain of the hijacked MT Orkim Harmony in alerting the authorities to the pirates fleeing the tanker.

“Five hours is a long time and there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the delay,” Navy chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar told Malay Mail.

He said while authorities understood that the captain was afraid following threats by the pirates on his family, Captain Nor Fazly Sahat could have used the two very high frequency (VHF) radio channels that were active.

“Earlier communication with the tanker was through these channels and during the five-hour delay, they could have easily communicated with us.”

He wants the police and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to investigate why Captain Nor Fazly only alerted authorities hours after the eight armed hijackers escaped in the tanker’s lifeboat.

This was the second time the authorities had been left in the lurch.

When Orkim Harmony was hijacked last Thursday (June 11), the MMEA was only notified 10 hours later leading to a frantic search in regional waters.

Hours after the pirates fled on a lifeboat from hijacked oil tanker MT Orkim Harmony, Vietnam authorities said eight Indonesians suspected to be the pirates were detained in its waters near Tho Chu Island.

Admiral Abdul Aziz said the armed suspects had threatened to harm the Captain’s family should he expose their plan, abandoning ship after taking his personal details.

“The lifeboat is one that uses an outboard motor and has all necessary supplies. It is more sophisticated than a normal lifeboat,” he said.

Admiral Abdul Aziz said the tanker is currently on its way to the Kuantan Port, escorted by KD Handalan, and due to arrive at 2am today.

Before the hijackers escaped the leader of the pirates had informed negotiators of his plans to continue to the Natuna Islands and he warned KD Terengganu to keep its distance to no less than five nautical miles, otherwise the tanker’s crew would be harmed.

Admiral Abdul Aziz said they received overwhelming support from Vietnamese, Thailand and Indonesian Navy in the hunt for the pirates.

“The Indonesian navy immediately agreed to search for the pirates in Natuna islands and this was personally conveyed to me by the Indonesian Navy Chief Staff Laksamana Ade Supandi through a phone call.

“He even updated me through WhatsApp Messenger, and there has been tremendous support from other nations as well,” he said, adding that there were no issues in entering their waters.

The MT Orkim Harmony was reported missing at 8.57 pm on June 11 while on it was en route from Malacca to the Kuantan Port in Pahang.

The tanker that is owned by Syarikat Magna Meridian Sdn Bhd had 22 crewmembers, comprising 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar citizen. MALAY MAIL ONLINE