MMEA Director-General Ahmad Puzi Zb Kahar’s tweet also confirmed an earlier report that the vessel, MT Vier Harmoni, was believed to have been taken to Indonesian waters, following the hijacking.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Datuk Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said in his tweet that MT Vier Harmoni was believed to be currently “somewhere in Batam waters.”

This morning, Puzi had sent out two messages via Twitter, first saying that the MMEA was aware of the disappearance of the vessel, and had launched an investigation.

His second tweet, 20 minutes later, stated that the Batam-registered vessel, which had departed from the Tanjung Pelepas port in Malaysia on Monday, was found to be near Batam by Indonesian authorities.

MMEA have not confirmed the identity of the pirates as at press time.