Missing Vietnamese tanker found, oil stolen by pirates

The product tanker was located at approximately 78 nm southwest of Hon Khoai Island, Vietnam.

“On 9 October 2014, the Vietnam Focal Point and the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA) reported to the ReCAAP ISC that the master of Sunrise 689 contacted them at about 0405 hrs (local time),” ReCAAP said.

The ship master reported that some personnel armed with guns and knives boarded the vessel, siphoned the gas oil from the tanker to their ship, damaged the communication equipment and injured two crew.

“The Vietnam Coast Guard has dispatched their patrol ship to render assistance to the tanker which is making her way back to Vietnam,” ReCAAP said.

The Vietnamese-registered oil product tanker Sunrise 689 departed Singapore for Vietnam on 2 October, carrying a crew of 18 people and over 5,000 tonnes of gas oil. But the tanker disappeared from the radar 40 minutes after it left Singapore.

Southeast Asian maritime authorities had carried out a search for the missing vessel.