Hunt on for hijacked Singaporean ship

Hunt on for hijacked Singaporean ship

MALAYSIA: Regional marine police and navies were on Wednesday hunting for a Singapore-owned ship and its crew, feared to have been hijacked by pirates in the South China Sea, a maritime official said.

The Steadfast, a chemical tanker carrying a cargo of vegetable oil, departed Palembang in Indonesia on Dec. 18 and was due in Singapore the following day, said Noel Choong, head of the Piracy Reporting Center of the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

"Its last contact with the owners was on Dec. 19 at 05:30 GMT. Thereafter the owner lost contact with her," Choong told AFP. "It is suspected to have been hijacked by pirates after departing Palembang. The regional authorities are looking for her," he added.

Chong said regional marine police and navies were involved in the search, but declined to specify which countries they were from. The waters where the vessel went missing are bounded by peninsular Malaysia to the west, and Indonesian and Malaysian parts of Kalimantan to the east.

The Steadfast, which had 25 crew members on board, was carrying 16,585 metric tons of vegetable oil worth several million dollars, he said. -- AFP