A bunker tanker that went missing off Malaysia earlier this week is believed to have been the subject of a crew mutiny rather than a hijacking.
Indonesian authorities are quoted as saying that the Vier Harmoni (built 2004) was likely taken by its own crew in a dispute with their employer
The captain of the vessel is said to have twice informed his employer that he was taking the ship back to the Indonesian island of Batam because of an “internal management problem”, the AFP news agency reported.
The Vier Harmoni, which is carrying 900,000 litres of diesel, sailed into Indonesian waters on Wednesday after it dropped out of contact on Tuesday evening.
“The Indonesian crew on the Indonesian vessel took the tanker back to Indonesia after not being paid for well over a month,” reported Al Jazeera.
“It was a Malaysian company that chartered the boat but it's a dispute between the Indonesian owner and the Indonesian crew.”
There has been a marked improvement in the piracy and armed robbery situation in Asia with the largest decrease in number of incidents during January-June 2016 compared to the same period in the past four years of 2012-2015.
