The Royal Thai Navy is working with Malaysian authorities in the hunt for a pirate vessel which hijacked a Thai-flagged oil tanker and made off with 1.5 million litres of diesel in Malaysian waters late on Friday night.
The patrol boat HTMS Takbai had met up with the oil tanker CP41 and its 17 crew on Sunday at Nu islet near Cape Samila on the Gulf coast of the southern province of Songkhla, 2nd Naval Area Command chief Vice Adm Phonchai Pinthong said on Monday.
Malaysian marine security had been informed of the piracy and were also investigating, he said.
The Thai ship, carrying 3.5 million litres of oil, was stopped and boarded by six armed men while sailing north to deliver the cargo in Songkhla.
The pirates tied up all 17 crew members, robbed them of personal valuables and stole about half of the oil.
After a break at Nu islet, the captain and crew planned to deliver the remaining oil to a company in Songkhla's Singha Nakhon district.