Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Friday said a vessel carrying about 3,700 tonnes of palm oil had been robbed in the waters near Indonesia.
The MMEA said it received report by a Malaysian company that Ever Omega, a barge it owned, was hijacked in the waters near Indonesia on Wednesday.
The barge, along with tugboat Ever Prosper, was sailing from Bintulu in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak to Penang off the Malay Peninsula when it was robbed by a group of machete-wielding pirates in wee hours, the MMEA said in statement.
It noted that the six crew members on the barge and the four crew on the tugboat were tied up by the robbers, who took away the barge but left the tugboat behind.
It stated that the crew on the tugboat later managed to free themselves and sailed the ship toward water off Malaysia’s southern Johor state.
MMEA said it had since requested assistance from the Indonesian authorities and was informed on Thursday that the barge Ever Omega had been found, but the cargos on the ship worth around 4.5 million dollar (18.5 million ringgit) were believed to be robbed.
Based on the record, it was the fourth time that the ships owned by the company were robbed, said MMEA, adding that around 5,449 tonnes of palm oil were robbed in two incidents in 2016.