The plague of piracy continues to strike in other regions than Somalia.Hidden amongst the headline news of the tsunami and earthquakes hitting Japan, the near-civil war in Libya with coalition forces making their presence felt, and the continually increasing scourge of Somali piracy, it may have been lost in the footnotes of the front page news that piracy continues to plague the Southeast Asia region.
In the period from 16 to 21 March, as reported by IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, 4 attacks have been carried out by armed pirates and robbers in the Southeast Asia region. In areas off Indonesia and Singapore, pirates and robbers have stolen property and cash, threatened crew members and chased a vessel in an attempt to board her. One brave, or foolhardy, depending upon ones view, Bosun took it upon himself to defend the ship from a single pirate by brandishing an iron bar. In that particular case, the pirate decided not to continue boarding the ship. The attacks were:
- March 16 at 0405 (Local Time), Belawan Anchorage, Indonesia. Unknown number of robbers board an anchored general cargo ship. The master raised the alarm, however, the robbers escaped with ships' stores IMB Report.
- March 18 at 0300 LT, Singapore Straits. Robbers in small boats attempt to board a bulk carrier by approaching from the port and starboard sides. The alarm was raised with Aldis lamps flashed, an increase in speed ordered, evasive manoeuvres and measures undertaken, and the crew mustering on the bridge, shouting loudly. The robbers chased the vessel for another 30 minutes before abort the attempted boarding IMB Report.
- March 20 at 0210 LT, off Pulau Mangkai, South China Sea. 8 pirates armed with long knives, boarded an underway general cargo ship. Taking the duty officer hostage, they entered the master's cabin and stole his belongings. The pirates also stole ships' cash and property before leaving the ship after 20 minutes. The crew are reported to be safe IMB Report.
- March 21 at 1755 UTC, around 45nm Northeast of Horsburgh Lighthouse, South China Sea. 8 pirates armed with long knives attempt to board an underway general cargo ship by using long bamboo pole with a hook. The duty AB informed the master, who then raised the alarm, activated SSAS and mustered the crew. One pirate was confronted by the Bosun holding an iron bar. The pirate was deterred from the boarding, and subsequently, mindful of the crew's alertness, aborted the attempted attack IMB Report.
Although designed for the Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean regions, vessels are reminded that seafarers can greatly reduce their chances of being pirated if they follow precautions as recommended in the Best Management Practices, increasing speed, carrying out evasive manoeuvres and implementing security measures is a proven deterrent to piracy attacks.
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Ships are advised to maintain anti-piracy watches and report all piratical attacks and suspicious movements of craft to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ICC IMB (Asia Regional Office),
PO Box 12559,
Kuala Lumpur,
50782,
Malaysia.
Tel: + 60 3 2078 5763
Fax: + 60 3 2078 5769
Telex: MA34199 IMBPCI
Email: imbkl@icc-ccs.org
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