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.