Regional marine police and navies were hunting today for a Singapore-owned ship and its crew, feared to have been hijacked by pirates in the South China Sea, a maritime official said.

The Steadfast , a chemical tanker carrying a cargo of vegetable oil, departed Palembang in Indonesia on December 18 and was due in Singapore the following day, said Noel Choong, head of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

"Its last contact with the owners was on December 19 at 0530 GMT. Thereafter the owner lost contact with her," Choong told AFP .

"It is suspected to have been hijacked by pirates after departing Palembang. The regional authorities are looking for her," he added.

Chong said regional marine police and navies were involved in the search, but declined to specify which countries they were from.

25 crew members

The waters where the vessel went missing are bounded by Peninsular Malaysia to the west, and Indonesian and Malaysian parts of Borneo island to the east.

Chong said that the tanker of 10,734 gross registered tonnage (GRT) was travelling near the Anambas islands in Indonesian waters in the South China Sea when it went missing.

The Steadfast , which had 25 crew members on board, was carrying 16,585 metric tons of vegetable oil worth several million dollars, he said.