Hijacked tugboat recovered off Surigao Norte

MANILA, Philippines—A Singapore-registered tugboat reportedly seized on February 6 by suspected pirates off Pulao Tioman in Malaysia has been recovered by the authorities near Loreto, Surigao del Norte.

Initial reports reaching the Coast Guard headquarters in Manila on Friday said the 296-ton ASTA Roxy 1 was found on Feb. 25 near the vicinity of Barangay Pamanaon.

The tugboat was reportedly "abandoned with only one caretaker," identified as Jonathan Conor, 19, and a resident of Surigao City.

Eleven of the tugboat's 12 crew members were rescued on Feb. 17 by the Malaysian Navy off the Adraiser Reef, also in Malaysia.

"The missing crew is believed to be the vessel's chief engineer," whose identity was not immediately known, the Coast Guard said.

According to the rescued crew, "the tugboat was boarded by eight unidentified men clad in dark-colored clothes while navigating three nautical miles off Pulao Tioman."

"The pirates, armed with rifles and parangs (knives) blindfolded the crew and locked them up inside the cabins. On February 10, at around 9 p.m., they were set adrift on a life raft," said the Coast Guard.

Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, Coast Guard commandant, has ordered an investigation into Conor's alleged participation in the hijacking incident.

Earlier, the Coast Guard and the Singapore-based Regional Anti-Piracy Council issued a "general alert" for all ships plying the Southern Philippine waters to be on the lookout for the hijacked tugboat.