The International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre based here today confirmed receiving a report on Friday (June 12) about missing Malaysian-registered tanker MT Orkim Harmony.

The vessel was reported to have gone missing about 30 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili, Kota Tinggi, Johor on Thursday.

The centre's head, Noel Choong said Mt Orkim Harmony laden with 5,879 metric tonnes of unleaded gasoline departed from Singapore on Thursday (June 11) and was bound for Kuantan, Malaysia.

READ:
Oil tanker, MT Orkim Harmony status reportedly missing not 'hijacked'
3 vessels deployed to search for missing oil tanker - RMN Chief

He said the owners had reported to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Friday that they were unable to establish contact with the tanker and that the fate of the vessel and its crew was unknown.

He added that the centre had requested al ships to keep a lookout for the missing tanker and to report to the centre immediately if the vessel was sighted.

He also advised ships plying in the area to be extra cautious and adopt anti-piracy measures and notify the authorities and the centre if they noticed any suspicious activities.

The centre can be reached at 03-2031 0014 (24 hours) or by facsimilie at 03-20785769.

Meanwhile, MMEA operations director Maritime First Admiral Ibrahim Mohamad said they had widened their search area to 20,000 square kilometres stretching from Tanjung Penawar to Mersing.

There were 22 crew on board aged from 20 to 64 years. Sixteen of them were Malaysians and the others five Indonesians and a Myanmar national.