Navy Discovers Malaysian Tanker
Indonesia's navy has found a tanker carrying almost US$400,000 worth of diesel that was taken by its own crew last week due to a commercial dispute, says a report in AFP.
The navy said in a statement that the MT Vier Harmoni with 10 Indonesian crewmen was found off West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo.
There was a dispute between the charterer of the vessel and the crew when a promise of bonus payments was unfulfilled, said Vier Abdul Jamal, chief executive of the ship's owner Vierlines Asia Group.
"The ship was escorted to the port of Tanjung Pinang for further investigation," said Head of Information Department of the Navy Rear Admiral Edi Sucipto.
According to Edi, the search for Vier Harmoni commenced soon after a report that the tanker was taken to Batam waters.
Malaysian maritime authorities had suspected that the ship was hijacked after it was declared missing on August 17, but it wasn’t to be. “At that point, the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Ade Supandi had instructed an immediate search.”
The navy said it deployed warships, a maritime patrol plane and a helicopter to find the tanker, which was carrying about 900,000 liters of diesel.
