Palm oil cargo stolen from barge off Malaysian coast

The barge Ever Dignity was carrying the cargo and being towed by tug boat Ever Prosper when the crime happened, according to an update by Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).

ReCAAP ISC said it received information from the Sarawak and Sabah Shipowners’ Association (SSSA) on 3 June that the tug boat owner had lost communication with both the tug boat and the barge on 2 June.

In the morning of 3 June, the barge Ever Dignity and tug boat Ever Prosper were reported off Mukah, Sarawak, East Malaysia.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) sent two naval ships to the location of the incident, and reported that the crew were robbed and the crude palm kernel oil cargo was siphoned away from the barge.

“The 10 crew were safe and one of the crew suffered injury to one of his eyes, believed to be punched by the perpetrators,” ReCAAP said.

Both Ever Dignity and Ever Prosper have been escorted by the MMEA ships into Bintulu port on Saturday morning and the injured crew was brought to the hospital.

“This is the second incident of hijacking of ship for oil cargo theft in 2016. The first oil cargo theft occurred on board Hai Soon 12 [product tanker] on 8 May 15 off Pulau Belitung, Indonesia,” said ReCAAP, adding that the Indonesian authorities managed to arrest the perpetrators and recovered the full cargo.