KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The disappearance of a Malaysian oil tanker, which was reported missing on Tuesday and was believed to be hijacked to the Indonesia's Batam Island after leaving a Malaysian port, may be due to "commercial dispute".
The oil tanker MT Vier Harmoni, which was carrying 900,000 liters of diesel worth 1.57 million ringgit (390,000 U.S. dollars), could have been "deliberately taken to international waters due to a commercial dispute," the Star reported on Wednesday afternoon, citing Rear Admiral Adon Shalan of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
According to Adon, MMEA has called off search operations after the vessel was found near Batam with the help of Indonesian authorities.
Adon said initial investigations showed that the company had yet to make bond payments to Malaysian authorities for the ship to embark on its journey.
"We tried to contact the ship but it went unanswered while we believe the ship's captain might have turned off its tracking system as we could not trace it on our radar," he was quoted as saying.
