[14][15] Communication with MT Orkim Harmony was lost on 11 June at 8:54 p.m. MST (UTC+08:00) during its way from Malacca to Kuantan Port in the waters of Tanjung Sedili, Kota Tinggi, Johor at 2°8.90′N 104°27.30′E / 2.14833°N 104.45500°E / 2.14833; 104.45500.

[3][10] On 12 June, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) started to search for the tanker in South China Sea in an area of 50,000 square kilometres after it lost contact for 10 hours.

[17] On 17 June, a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft, flying from RMAF Butterworth in Malaysia's northern Penang state, spotted the missing tanker in the Gulf of Thailand within the Cambodian-Vietnamese maritime border.

[note 1] In reaction to the Australian report, Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and MMEA vessels, who were put on standby, were deployed to the area and, on 19 June, the tanker was spotted at 9°10′N 103°10′E / 9.167°N 103.167°E / 9.167; 103.167.

The RMN and MMEA successfully secured the tanker at 12:50 a.m. MST, with all members of the crew in safe condition except for one person who was injured in his thigh after being shot by the pirates.

[7][27] Further investigation by Vietnamese authorities concluded that the pirates were not amateurs, but "seasoned criminals" based on how they conducted their motives by switching off Automatic Identification System (AIS) to operate their crime undetected and how they were found with wads of cash on their lifeboat when detained by VBDF and VCG.

[28][29] The tugboat has been identified as Meulaboah and was found abandoned near Seloko Island off Batam by the Indonesian Navy's Western Fleet Command's (KOARMABAR) Quick Response team.