Piracy attacks soar in Indonesian waters

About one in three pirate attacks around the world took place in and around Indonesian waters last year and doubled in South- East Asia, an international watchdog’s report said.

Focusing on the region, the London based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) cited 113 attacks in Indonesian waters in issuing a warning to mariners to be extra cautious in the area, keeping a lookout for small speed boats.

Attacks in and around Malaysia almost doubled from 10 in 1998 to 18 last year, with merchant ships and fishing boats the targets.

Of the worldwide tally of 285, a 40 per

cent hike over 1998, the IMB said the bulk of attacks occurred in South-East Asia, an increase from 89 in 1998 to 158 in 1999.

The pirates, armed with guns or knives, board ships and take the crew hostage before making off with cash, equipment or valuables said the report published in The Strait Times.

“The potential for violence continues to be a worrying factor,” the IMB said, with guns and knives used in more attacks last year than in 1998.

' Pirates also endanger navigation by leaving vessels, including fully laden tankers, underway and not in command, dramatically increasing the risk of collision or grounding,” the IMB said.

On the positive side, the IMB noted 13

attacks in the early part of 1999 but none in the fourth quarter after the naval forces in Singapore and Indonesia stepped up patrols.

“This proves that government involvement can make a difference,” the IMB said.

The fight against piracy was taken

recently to the Internet with weekly updates of attacks in East and South-East Asian waters and warnings to shipowners on the International Chamber of Commercial Crime Services web sites.

Data from the IMB is posted every Tuesday on the ICC site, compiled from daily status bulletins broadcast via satellite from the IMB’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. DPA