A Vietnamese oil tanker was released by pirates early today, a week after it went missing while en route from Singapore, an official said.

A group of men stormed the tanker, named Sunrise 689 , around four hours after it left port on Oct 2 and destroyed the navigation and communications systems, Chun-ying Nguyen Anh Vu director of the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre aid.

The pirates beat up the crew, leaving two men injured, including the captain, Vu said.

“The pirates took a third of the 5,000 tonnes of oil (the tanker was carrying),” he said.

The ship is returning to Vietnam, escorted by two Vietnamese fishing boats.

The Strait of Malacca between Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia is prone to piracy. At least 11 vessels have been attacked by pirates in the area this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre.

- dpa