Hijackers slipped away after warning ships to stay five nautical miles - Navy chief

He said the hijackers had also warned that if their warning was not heeded, they would harm the crew members onboard.

In a press statement, Abdul Aziz said the hijackers took down personal details of the tanker’s caption Nor Fazly Sahat and threatened to harm his family if he disclosed their escape plans.

“The ship captain only informed KD Terengganu about 12.55 midnight, almost five hours after the robbers escaped,” he said.

He said the 22 crew members, comprising 22 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar national are safe.

However, the cook, an Indonesian national had sustained gunshot wound to the thigh on June 11. The cook has been flown to Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian. He arrived at the hospital at 10.15am today, Abdul Aziz said.

The tanker is being escorted back by KD Handalan and is expected to reach the Kuantan port at about 2am, Saturday.

The tanker, which was first spotted in Cambodian waters on Wednesday after went missing for almost a week, was repainted from blue to black. It was also renamed Kim Harmon.