Kuala Lumpur, June 21 (IANS): Eight suspected Indonesian pirates on Sunday confessed to the Vietnamese authorities that they were involved in hijacking of a Malaysian oil tanker which disappeared last Thursday.

Eight suspected hijackers were arrested near the Vietnamese archipelago of Tho Chu on Friday, hours after they fled from the hijacked tanker "MT Orkim Harmony".

"The agency has started the process of extraditing the hijackers in an effort to bring them to the country as soon as possible," Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) deputy director-general (operations) Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said.

"Our investigating officers are currently taking statements from the crew members," Kahar said, the New Straits Times reported.

He also denied that MMEA had issued a statement that an insider was involved in the hijacking of the oil-tanker that was laden with 6,000 metric tonnes of petrol worth $5.6 million.

All 22 crew members, including 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar citizen were safe.