New SE Asia hijack

Another blow for shipping in the region.

New SE Asia hijack

The IMB reports that the MT Phubai Pattra 1 was hijacked by armed pirates on February 20th.

Normally, events such as this make headlines in the region, but for some reason this incident remains unreported by the media. According to the incident report, the ship was underway when seven pirates armed with guns and knives boarded her from a small boat. They took the crew hostage and then transferred the ship’s cargo into another vessel.

The report doesn’t state how this occurred, so at the time of writing, we don’t know whether the tanker was approached by a secondary vessel or taken to another location where it rendezvoused with the pirates’ tanker. Before leaving, the pirates stole cash from the crew and also ship and crew property, suggesting that they were simply guns for hire conducting the hijacking at the behest of a third party.

The pirates left the ship the following day and authorities in the region are investigating.