Seven pirates armed with guns boarded the VP Asphalt 2 on 7 December at 0530 local hours and took control of the tanker, according to an incident report from ReCAAP ISC.
The third engineer of the 3,100-dwt tanker sustained injuries to his forehead and was evacuated via a helicopter to a Singapore hospital, but he died a few hours later in the hospital.
“The death of the third engineer of VP Asphalt 2 is the first incident in Asia since 2009 that involved the death of a crew,” ReCAAP said.
The pirates also stole the crew’s personal belongings before they escaped and left the tanker.
“While the incident is still under investigation, the ReCAAP ISC strongly advises master and crew to avoid resisting or retaliating against armed perpetrators after they had boarded the vessel,” ReCAAP added.
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