'Piracy on high seas becomes a major threat'<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Indonesian ports, East African waters and
\nthe triangle between Hong Kong, Luzon in the Philippines and
\nHainan in China are becoming hotbeds for piracy, which is
\nincreasing worldwide, a top maritime official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Piracy cases appear headed for a sharp increase this year,
\nbased on the reported incidents in the first five months,\" John
\nMartin, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)'s Kuala Lumpur-
\nbased regional manager, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Martin said the surge in piracy attacks had raised IMB's
\nconcern about the possibility of environmental disasters if
\npirate-occupied oil or gas tankers were involved in collisions on
\nthe high seas.<\/p>\n
His remarks followed last week's alleged hijacking by renegade
\nChinese troops of a Panama-flagged freighter, Hye Mieko, in the
\nSouth China Sea, which the owner reported on Wednesday had
\nreached the southern Chinese port of Shanwei.<\/p>\n
\"We are relieved to hear that the vessel's 14 crew members are
\nsafe,\" Martin said, while declining comment on the alleged
\ninvolvement of Chinese troops, pending a full report from the
\nowners.<\/p>\n
Maritime officials said the Hye Mieko was the 70th vessel to
\nbe hijacked in the first six months of this year. Last year,
\nthere were 103 known pirate attacks.<\/p>\n
Data collated by the IMB in the first five months of this year
\nlogged a total of 58 incidents compared with 40 in the same
\nperiod last year, Martin said.<\/p>\n
Attacks<\/p>\n
\"Seventeen of the cases were reported in harbors and ports in
\nIndonesia, while nine were off Somalia and seven in the Hong
\nKong-Luzon-Hainan triangle, \" Martin said.<\/p>\n
There were five attacks off Brazil, four off Iran, three off
\nthe Philippines, two each in the South China Sea, Djibouti,
\nMalaysia and China, and one each in Tanzania, Cambodia, Algeria,
\nTurkey and Denmark.<\/p>\n
IMB, set up by the Paris-based International Chamber of
\nCommerce to monitor piracy, last month expressed concern for
\nships passing through Somalia's coastal waters following two
\nincidents in the last two months involving a British yacht, the
\nLongo Barda, and a Bulgarian vessel.<\/p>\n
There were also ten reports of attempted boardings.
\nLongo Barda was chased by a pirate boat and fired on with mortar
\nshells, but the attack was foiled when a Canadian warship and a
\ncontainer vessel went to its aid.<\/p>\n
On May 3, the Bulgarian-registered bulk carrier, the Liliana
\nDimitrova was shot at by a pirate boat in the Gulf of Aden. One
\ncrew member was wounded.<\/p>\n
Martin said that pirates appear to have no particular targets
\nas all types of vessels have been victims.<\/p>\n
Of the 58 cases, 12 were general cargo carriers, seven
\ncontainers, five tankers, four tugs and the rest various types of
\nvessels.<\/p>\n
The London-based IMB opened its office in Kuala Lumpur in 1991
\nand a year later commissioned a regional piracy center to help
\ncollate and collect data on pirate attacks for the benefit of the
\nshipping industry.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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