Pirates hold Pinoy, 24 others hostage off Borneo –report

A Filipino crewmember of a ship and his 24 colleagues were held hostage for 10 hours off Borneo by pirates who hijacked the vessel and stole the diesel it was carrying last weekend, a Malaysian news site reported Thursday.

The hijacking occurred off Bintulu in Sarawak in Malaysia last Saturday, according to a report on Malaysia's The Star Online.

Malaysian Enforcement Maritime Agency Labuan Enforcement Chief Captain Che Adnan Mohd Isa said the MT Budi Mesra Dua was hijacked for 10 hours while it was sailing from Singapore to Labuan.

Adnan said the crew included a Filipino, 18 Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Bangladeshis, and one Indian. None were harmed in the incident, he added.

The report said the ship was allowed to sail to Labuan "after being held captive for 10 hours.”

Citing initial information, Adnan said six men wearing masks and dark green overalls, armed with parangs and hammers, climbed aboard the ship at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

They reportedly tied up the crewmembers and confined them in a room.

Adnan said the men then ordered the captain and chief officer to stop the engine as a vessel approached it. The armed men pumped out 100 metric tons of diesel from the ship to their vessel.

The men also ransacked the ship and turned off its radar and navigation systems before fleeing with valuables. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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