The captain and two crew-members of a Malaysian-owned ship have been kidnapped after the vessel was boarded by armed pirates in Indonesian waters, marine police officials said today.

The MT Penrider, which was carrying 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil from Singapore to Penang, was attacked and robbed on Sunday by unidentified gunmen in the Malacca Strait, marine police spokesman Chief Inspector Fauzi Abdul Rauf told AFP .

"A group of men in a boat, wearing military dress and armed with AK47 and M16 rifles, fired several shots at the ship," he said.