KL warns of terror threat to shipping

KL warns of terror threat to shipping

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

A spate of attacks on chemical tankers by pirates armed with automatic weapons in Indonesian waters has heightened concern over their vulnerability to terror groups, a Malaysian security official said on Sunday.

Three attacks on chemical tankers took place between Feb. 25 and March 26 this year and seafarers have registered a dramatic increase in pirate attacks in the region since the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

"We cannot rule out this possibility. Hijacked ships could be used by terrorists," Muhammad Muda, marine police chief told AFP when asked if hijacked ships could be used by terror groups to launch their attacks on other maritime targets.

But Muda was quick to point out that police had not found any indication that these recent attacks were the work of terror groups. "For now, it only suggests that it is being done by individuals for monetary gains."

But in January, an international watchdog said the seas around Indonesia are the worst in the world for pirate attacks and warned that maritime terrorism could also become a reality.

The Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center for the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the Oct. 6 attack on the French supertanker MT Limburg in the Middle East showed that ships had become vulnerable to terrorism.

Noel Choong, IMB's regional manager, told AFP that the nature of attacks on two ships in broad daylight recently had baffled seafarers, adding that one chief engineer was shot in the head. He survived the attack.

"In one of the attacks (on March 26), the pirates boarded the tanker, took total control of the ship, including reducing the ship's speed and remained onboard for more than an hour."

"These pirates were professionals. They knew the communications systems. They destroyed them and steered the ship," he added.

Asked if IMB was concerned that it could be the work of terror groups, Choong said: "So far we have not received any reports from any security agencies or our sources suggesting terrorists are targeting ships. But we just cannot rule out any possibilities."