Freighter reported seized by Vietnam

Freighter reported seized by Vietnam

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A Cambodian-bound cargo freighter, MV
Elaine, loaded with US$3 million of Indonesian cigarettes is
reported to have been detained by Vietnamese officials, the
regional piracy center here said yesterday.

The 1,331-ton, 78-meter (234 feet) freighter left the
Indonesian port of Kuala Tanjung in Sumatra on March 26 and
should have arrived in Sihanoukville on March 31, the
International Maritime Bureau (IMB)'s piracy center here said.

The vessel was believed to have reached the Gulf of Thailand
when it went missing. The Singapore-based agent of the
Panamanian-registered ship told the center the owners lost
contact with the ship's captain on March 29.

"The ship's agent, Pyramid Shipping Services, reported
yesterday (Thursday) that it believed the ship was hijacked," an
IMB official said.

"But the agent later said it had news that the vessel has been
detained by Vietnamese maritime officials and has been taken to a
port in Vietnam," the IMB official said.