ARTEMIS

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ocean Tankers to strengthen ship security

Singapore-based Ocean Tankers told IHS Maritime it plans to strengthen its anti-piracy measures in the wake of the second hijacking its fleet has suffered within a year. A spokesman for Ocean Tankers told IHS Maritime, "We are currently reviewing our security procedures to see how we can further improve these, and our main purpose is to ensure the total safety of all our crews no matter where they sail. Right after we learnt about this incident we sent a security alert to our entire fleet to tighten security procedures, and we reminded them to follow our procedures strictly with additional look-out and raised awareness." The company would not elaborate on the measures it currently has in place. On 2 May, one of its products tankers, 6,500 dwt Ocean Energy, was boarded by eight pirates as it was en route to Myanmar in the Straits of Malacca. The pirates, armed with firearms, forced the master of the vessel to drop anchor at 02° 19.3.64' N, 101° 40.4' E, off Port Dickson, Malaysia, where a barge came alongside. Subsequently, the master and crew were locked up while the perpetrators siphoned and transferred 2,023 tonnes of gas oil to the barge. In the meantime, the perpetrators damaged the communication equipment on the ship and stole the crew's cash and mobile phones as well as the vessel's Iridium phone. Then, the perpetrators fled the scene at around 04:30 h local time on 3 May. The crew of Ocean Energy then managed to contact their company's security officer at about 05:53 h local time to report the incident. No one was hurt in the incident and the vessel eventually returned to Singapore on 3 May. The attack, the fifth fuel siphoning case reported this year, came less than eight months after another of Ocean Tankers' vessels, Ocean Osprey, was similarly attacked on 22 September 2014. http://www.ihsmaritime360.com/article/17731/ocean-tankers-to-strengthen-ship-security

Pirates hijacked and plundered tanker

Eight pirates armed with guns attacked and hijacked the "Ocean Energy" on May 2, 2015, around 11.30 p.m. east of Port Klang in the Malacca Strait. The vessel was en route from Palembang to Yangon. The pirates ordered vessel to move to position 02 19N 101 40E, 40 nm east of Port Klang, where she was anchored. Another vessel came alongside, and the tanker’s cargo was transferred to that vessel. It consisted of 2000 tons of gas oil. The pirates left tanker at 4.30 a.m. on May 3, after destroying the navigational and radio equipment and stealing the crew’s valuables and cash. The tanker was returning to Singapore.