Armed pirates attack ship in RI waters

Armed pirates attack ship in RI waters

SINGAPORE: Pirates armed with guns and knives boarded a diving support vessel off an Indonesian island and robbed crew members of cash and valuables before escaping, it was reported on Sunday.

The international crew of Australians, New Zealanders, Malaysians, Indonesians and others was heading to Singapore aboard the Ocean Winsertor after a three-week diving trip in East Timor, The Sunday Times said.

About a dozen pirates wearing ski masks stormed the ship on Saturday, 160 kilometers from Singapore near Lingga Islands, southwest of Bintan and Batam.

About half the crew of 50 were asleep when the pirates boarded the vessel from two small boats. They fired a warning shot, cut the vessel's communication wires and then held the crew at gunpoint.

One crew member had a rope tied around his neck and another was hit on the head with a bar. No one else was injured.

The pirates were looking to rob the safe in the captain's cabin, but it was empty, the newspaper said. --DPA