Bernama, April 05, 2010 19:55 PM
SINGAPORE, April 5 (Bernama) - Three robbers struck an Indonesian-registered chemical tanker, Tirta Samudra XVII, while the vessel was berthed at Hiep Phuoc, a palm oil jetty in Vietnam on Saturday.
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre here said the robbers armed with knives, came in an engine-driven wooden boat and climbed up the tanker using grapnel and rope at about 2.30 am.
In a statement here Monday, the centre said while stealing some stores, they were sighted by the ship's officer who reported the incident and raised the emergency alarm.
After realising they had been spotted, the robbers held the officer hostage for a few minutes before escaping in their boat taking along with them three tins of paint and a walkie-talkie.
The officer was reportedly injured in the mouth after he was hit by one of the robbers.
The centre said the incident, the fourth in the area since January this year, was reported to the Vietnam Marine Police, and that the ship with all her crew onboard had since left Vietnam for Indonesia.
