Representational Image (Reuters)
Hanoi, Vietnam:
A Vietnamese sailor says his oil tanker has been released after pirates stormed the ship and siphoned off some of its cargo of gas oil.
Deputy captain of the Sunrise 689 Pham Van Hoang said Thursday that a group of more than 10 men, who he thought were Indonesian, armed with guns and knives in two speedboats boarded the tanker after it left Singapore for Vietnam on Oct. 2.
He says the pirates destroyed the communication and navigation systems, and put all 18 Vietnamese crew members into a room. The pirates then siphoned off some of the gas oil into their vessels.
Hoang says the crew was freed early Thursday. He was speaking by a cellphone from the tanker which is about 80 miles off Vietnam's southern tip.
Deputy captain of the Sunrise 689 Pham Van Hoang said Thursday that a group of more than 10 men, who he thought were Indonesian, armed with guns and knives in two speedboats boarded the tanker after it left Singapore for Vietnam on Oct. 2.
He says the pirates destroyed the communication and navigation systems, and put all 18 Vietnamese crew members into a room. The pirates then siphoned off some of the gas oil into their vessels.
Hoang says the crew was freed early Thursday. He was speaking by a cellphone from the tanker which is about 80 miles off Vietnam's southern tip.
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