A Thai oil tanker was attacked by pirates on Friday and robbed of 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel in Malaysian waters, after it left Singapore, the officials said. Thai navy's Vice Admiral Pornchai Pinthong said on Monday that the vessel, CP41 has returned to dock at Koh Noo.
Reports said that the ship was loaded with 3.8 million litres of diesel when it was attacked by six armed men near Malaysia's Kuantan while heading from Singapore to the southern Thai province of Songkhla. However, it continued with its journey and arrived in Songkhla on Sunday.
According to Pornchai, the robbery took place at just after 9 pm on June 23 when the CP41 was in Malaysian waters at latitude 03 55.27 and longitude 103.52.81, off Kuantan. The attackers, who spoke Bahasa, were equipped with guns and knives and entered the vessel, capturing the captain and crew members.
The pirates also destroyed communications equipment and robbed the crew of their valuables before pumping 1.5 million litres of fuel into their ship and fleeing.
According to officials, the captain and crew were safe and Thai authorities had been informed about the incident on Saturday night, hours before the tanker arrived in Songkhla. C&P Group, the owner and manager of the vessel, is investigating the incident in cooperation with six agencies.
Pornchai had dispatched naval officers, customs officials, and officials from the Labour Welfare and Protection Department to visit the crew. The Thai Navy had contacted the Malaysian Navy in a bid to locate the pirates.
