MT Orkim Harmony: All 22 Crew Released - MMEA

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- All the 22 crew onboard MT Orkim Harmony were freed about 2.30 am Friday. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Deputy Director-General (Operations) Ahmad Puzi said the crew was released following negotiation between the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the hijackers of the oil tanker. He said MT Orkim Harmony would be brought to Kuantan Port on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia and was expected to arrive there at 6 am, the earliest. "However, one of the crew is slightly injured and he will be sent to a hospital in Kuantan or Terengganu for treatment," he said when contacted by Bernama on Friday. Meanwhile, Navy Chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar, when contacted, said the hijackers fled in a lifeboat from the vessel. MT Orkim Harmony, which was laden with 6,000 metric tonne of petrol, worth US$5.65 million (RM21 million), was reported missing at 8.57 pm last Thursday while on its way to Kuantan Port, Pahang, from Melaka state. The vessel, owned by Magna Meridian Sdn Bhd, was carrying 22 crew onboard, comprising 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar national. --BERNAMA