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