On receiving information about an hijack attempt on a Singaporean cargo vessel MV Hai Soon 12 in the Tanjung Puting waters of South Kalimantan, Indonesian warship KRI Untung Suropati-372 sprung into action to chase the hijackers and caught them in the end.
“The nine pirates who hijacked the Singaporean-flagged vessel have been detained,” said Indonesian Navy Spokesman Commodore Edi Sucipto.
Key details related to the Hijack
- the vessel was carrying 200 kiloliters of oil.
- the vessel was enroute from Singapore to Riau Province’s port city of Dumai.
- the pirates were all Indonesian citizens hailing from five different areas: Buton, Bugis, Tanjung Uban, Wakatobi and Aceh.
- the hijacked ship’s Automatic Identification System helped locate the ill-fated vessel in the waters of Tanjung Puting.
- the pirates had immediately changed the vessels name to KM AISO.
The pirates reportedly have confessed about the plan to transfer the hijacked ship’s cargo to a Malaysian vessel, MT Marine Gas Oil, in the meantime their attempt was foiled.
All the suspects have been brought to the East Java city of Surabaya for further investigation, reports say.
The navy is conducting regular patrols to secure Indonesia’s maritime territory, he added.
Source: Bernama
