MT Zafirah hijacking

MT Zafirah hijacking
Part of Piracy in the Strait of Malacca and Piracy in Indonesia
Date 18–22 November 2012 Location Lost near the waters of Natuna Islands, Indonesia Result Vietnamese victory. All eight tanker crews rescued. Hijack foiled and all eleven pirates arrested. Malaysian tanker recovered.
Belligerents
Vietnam Vietnam Coast Guard  Vietnam People's Navy	Indonesian pirates
Commanders and leaders
Nguyễn Quang Đạm Lê Hải Trường Nguyễn Tuấn Hải Lê Xuân Thành	Unknown
Strength
3 ships 2 ships (Vietnamese fishing vessels)	1 tanker 11 pirates
Casualties and losses
none	11 captured
none
Approximate location where the tanker was recovered.

Vietnamese victory.

 Vietnam

On 18 November 2012, eleven Indonesian pirates hijacked MT Zafirah, a Malaysian tanker, in the South China Sea. The tanker crew was left by the pirates on a lifeboat in the sea two days after the hijacking but were subsequently rescued by Vietnamese fishing vessels on 21 November when their lifeboat was drifting around 118 nautical miles in the waters off Vietnam’s southern Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province. All the pirates managed to be tracked by Vietnam Coast Guard and Vietnam People's Navy with information provided by Malaysian based International Maritime Bureau and Singaporean based RECAAP, which led to their arrest after a brief of standoff near Vũng Tàu port.

The tanker was carrying 320,173 litres of light crude oil from Pasir Gudang, Johor, West Malaysia to Miri, Sarawak, East Malaysia when it was reportedly missing. Around five Myanmar nationals and four Indonesians were on board the tanker.

MT Zafirah was hijacked near the Natuna Islands, Indonesia. Around 19–20 November, the tanker was seen heading in a northerly direction with the last communication recorded at about 174.4 nautical miles (7°10.16′N 109°9.29′E / 7.16933°N 109.15483°E / 7.16933; 109.15483) southeast of Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam.RECAAP reported that all the 11 pirates were armed with machetes and pistols, and might be trying to sell the oil illegally in Vietnam. A report received by the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) stated that a company called "Petimax" will receive the oil from the tanker. All the tanker crew were later found on a lifeboat after having been left drifting in the sea for two days by the hijackers. They were subsequently rescued by Vietnamese fishing vessels.