REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Military chief commander General Moeldoko has instructed Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Ade Supandi to deploy its personnel to assist with the search for a Malaysian tanker lost in the South China Sea.
"The Malaysian Military chief commander called me last night asking for our help in the search for Malaysia's MT Orkim Harmony tanker," General Moeldoko said here on Tuesday evening.
General Moeldoko then instructed the Navy chief to track the movement of the Malaysian tanker, which lost contact on June 11, 2015, and has allegedly been hijacked.
The Navy Vice Admiral, Widodo, noted that his party has instructed the Western and Eastern Fleet Command (Armabar and Armatim) to move a number of warships to trace the Malaysian tanker in the north.
Widodo added that the mission to assist Malaysia has been running smoothly and some vessels have been deployed on the location for routine operations.
Separately interviewed, Armabar spokesman Lt. Col. Ariris Miftachurrahman remarked they have deployed three warships, namely KRI Imam Bonjol-383, KRI Teuku Umar-385, and KRI Alamang-644, to operate around the Natuna Sea to assist in the search for MT Orkim Harmony.
The Malaysian MT Orkim Harmony tanker, which is owned by Magna Meridian Shipping Company, was on its passage from Malacca to Kuantan Port when it reportedly went missing at 8.57 P.M. local time on June 11.
The tanker was carrying RON95 fuel cargo worth 21 million ringgit (US 5.6 million dollar), owned by Malaysian oil company Petronas, and 22 crew members.
The crew consists of 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians, and a Myanmar national.
The deputy director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Ahmad Puzi Abdul Kahar, said the tanker has likely been hijacked for economic motives as before.
Ahmad Puzi Abdul Kahar added there is a "high probability" that the tanker has been taken by pirates, although no ransom demands have been received yet.
He pointed out that the vessel didn't issue any distress call as all communications and tracking systems could have been turned off.
Another Malaysian tanker carrying diesel fuel was hijacked on June 4 in the same area. The vessel was released after the fuel was siphoned off.
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