Hijacked tanker found

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Coast Guard has recovered in Davao Oriental the Indonesian oil tanker MT Rehoboth that was hijacked in January.

The vessel was found lying aground and abandoned off Sitio (settlement) Edlib, Purok Matalaw, Barangay (village) Cabuaya in Mati City on Monday last week.

The MT Rehoboth is an Indonesia-registered vessel that was hijacked on Jan. 28 in the vicinity of Paraitan Lembeh Island in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The oil tanker was bound for Gosowong Halmahera in North Maluku, Indonesia, to deliver its cargo to PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals which operates the Gosowong gold mine in Halmahera District when armed men boarded it. The bandits were reportedly communicating in English and Tagalog.

Two crew members were thrown overboard in the waters of Nain or Wori, North Minahasa, Indonesia, but they were rescued by passing fishermen and they reported the incident to authorities.

The 13 other crew members were forced onto a life raft and set adrift as the hijackers took the tanker with its cargo. The crew were found by the Indonesian Maritime Police in waters off Bitung City on

Jan. 31.–Tina G. Santos