Trawler, barge ferrying palm oil hijacked off Bintulu Port

A trawler and a barge, said to be on their way to Port Klang from Tawau, Sabah, were reported to have been hijacked about 62 nautical miles off the Bintulu Port, at about 8.30pm Tuesday.

However, Bintulu District 12 Maritime Director, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Maritime Captain Aminuddin Abdul Rashid said the trawler, 'Ever Ocean Silk', and barge, 'Ever Giant', were found at 3.24pm yesterday by the agency's maritime ship, KM Jepak, about 30 nautical miles off Bintulu Port.

"All the 10 crew are safe and unharmed, but there are still in trauma," he said in a statement here today.

He said the trawler and barge were hijacked by a group of robbers armed with machetes who not only took away the communication equipment, but also siphoned the diesel into their boats.

However, he said the number of robbers could not be ascertained, but they were in two boats.

Aminuddin said two MMEA vessels, KM Jepak and KM Tabah, as well as Bot Penggalang 33, were sent to track the trawler and the barge soon after the agency received a report on the missing boats.

He said the trawler and barge were reportedly laden with 2,499 tonnes of palm oil worth RM14.99 million. -- Bernama