Hijacked Indonesian vessels found<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Thai navy and police have recovered two hijacked Indonesian
\nvessels and arrested seven Myanmar nationals, the International
\nMaritime Bureau (IMB) said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The arrests came just before pirates could repaint the boats
\nto hide their identities.<\/p>\n
Thai troops found the Sing Sing Mariner tug and the Kapuas 68
\nbarge in the Gulf of Thailand on Monday based on information
\nprovided by the bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur,
\nthe IMB said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"The intelligence received by the IMB indicated that the tug
\nand barge of similar description were in the Gulf of Thailand and
\nthey were in the process of changing their identity\" to Tyson and
\nTyson V, the IMB said.<\/p>\n
\"This information was promptly passed over to the Thai
\nauthorities who boarded the vessel and detained seven Myanmar
\nnationals found on board.\"<\/p>\n
The Sing Sing Mariner was towing the Kapuas 68, laden with
\n3,000 tons of crude palm oil valued at US$1.6 million, when it
\nwas seized by four hijackers on Feb. 9 in the waters off
\nIndonesia's Bintan island, it said.<\/p>\n
The cargo was heading to Butterworth in Malaysia's northern
\nPenang state from Kalimantan in Indonesia when it was seized.
\nCrew members were abandoned on an island and later rescued by a
\npassing fishing boat.<\/p>\n
At least 12 tugs and barges have been hijacked by criminal
\ngangs in Southeast Asian waters last year, mainly because they
\nmove very slowly and were deemed easy targets, the IMB said.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Coordinating Minister for Security and Defense
\nTony Tan earlier this month warned pirates could link with
\nterrorist groups to mount attacks on ships, especially in the
\nMalacca Straits, a vital global shipping lane straddling
\nMalaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Tan said piracy has \"entered a new phase,\" with recent attacks
\nin the strait conducted with almost military precision by people
\nwith well laid-out plans and armed with sophisticated weapons.<\/p>\n
A major attack in the Malacca Straits, which links the Indian
\nOcean to the South China Sea and the Pacific, could affect global
\nshipping as half of the world's oil and a large part of global
\ntrade and commerce pass through these shipping lanes, he added.<\/p>",
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