ORAPIN 4

(RAAP—013)

On May 30, 2014, an alert was issued after contact was lost with the Thailand-registered product tanker Orapin 4, which had departed Singapore on May 27, 2014, carrying 3,975 metric tonnes of automotive diesel fuel (ADF). The last communication with the vessel was reported on May 27, near Pulau Batam, Indonesia, and it failed to reach its scheduled destination in Pontianak, Indonesia, by May 29.

On May 28, a group of 10 armed pirates boarded the Orapin 4 approximately 19 nautical miles off the coast of Indonesia in the South China Sea. The pirates, armed with guns and knives, renamed the ship to RAPI, destroyed its communication equipment, and took control of the vessel. Over the course of approximately 10 hours, the pirates siphoned around 3,700 metric tonnes of ADF from the Orapin 4 onto another tanker.

The 14 Thai crew members were restrained but unharmed. The pirates provided them with sufficient fuel to return to shore. The Orapin 4 reached Sriracha Port, Thailand, on June 1, 2014, where the incident was reported to local authorities by the ship's master.

This hijacking followed a similar pattern to a previous incident involving the Sri Phangnga on April 17, 2014, where pirates had also siphoned fuel and disabled communication systems.