Eight Indonesians suspected of hijacking the Malaysian oil tanker Orkim Harmony have been extradited to Malaysia by a court in Vietnam, state media reports.

According to online newspaper VnExpress, the People’s Court in Hanoi approved to send the suspects to Malaysia based on Vietnam’s mutual legal support laws.

It also said the court denied an extradition request from Indonesian authorities.

The suspects have 15 days to appeal the extradition ruling.

The eight were arrested in June last year when they arrived on Vietnam’s southwestern Tho Chu island on a lifeboat and claimed that their fishing vessel sank.

Vietnamese officials said at the time that the Indonesians, aged 19 to 61, initially said they encountered an accident at sea while fishing, but later admitted to hijacking the oil tanker.

The ship was carrying about around 6,000 tonnes of petrol worth an estimated 21 million ringgit ($A6.7 million) when it was commandeered on June 11 last year en route from Malaysia’s western coast to the port of Kuantan on the east coast.

– with other agencies