Kuala Lumpur: Armed pirates boarded a Thai tanker off Malaysia's east coast and pumped out its cargo of oil.
The incident took place Thursday near the Malaysian resort island Tioman in the South China Sea as the tanker was travelling from Singapore to Thailand, the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre said.

The ship’s crew were locked in the engine room as the pirates siphoned off the tanker’s cargo of lubricant oil to another vessel, it said.

The ship and its crew -- all unharmed -- were released early Friday.

The attack was the tenth in the South China Sea since April, said Noel Choong, the head of the centre.  [29/08/14]

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