Piracy down in Malacca Strait thanks to Indonesia patrols: IMB
Piracy down in Malacca Strait thanks to Indonesia patrols: IMB
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur
Indonesia's efforts to boost naval and air patrols in the
notorious Malacca Strait helped suppress piracy there this year,
but any let-up will see the attacks quickly resume, a top
official has warned.
Pottengal Mukundan, London-based director of the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB), said there was a dramatic reduction in
attacks on ships in the strategic waterway this year.
"We believe (the reduction in the second half of 2005) is
attributed to an increase in patrols by Indonesia on its side of
the strait," he said in an interview with AFP in Kuala Lumpur.
Mukundan said Indonesia launched large-scale sea and air
patrols in July to enforce maritime security in the Malacca
Strait in an operation codenamed Gurita 2005.
As a result, there was a sharp drop in attacks to 10 in the
first nine months of 2005 from 25 in the same period in 2004, in
the narrow strait which is bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore.
The figures for the first few months of 2005 were also
affected by last year's Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which
devastated parts of Indonesia and also curtailed pirates'
activities.
Mukundan praised Indonesia for its efforts to police the
waterway which is used by some 50,000 ships a year carrying one
third of world trade, saying there was a direct link between law
enforcement and the rate of attacks.
"It's always the case that when it goes off the agenda and
people take their eye off this particular ball, the problem re-
emerges," he said. "We hope the level of patrols will remain so
that the number of attacks will remain low. Otherwise, they will
rise again."
Mukundan also warned that Indonesian ports continued to be
pirates' playgrounds.
"Indonesian ports still have a very large number of attacks in
proportion to world attacks. That continues to be a problem. But
in the Malacca Strait it has come down," he said.
Pirate attacks worldwide dropped 18 percent in the first nine
months of this year to 205 but Indonesian waters remained the
most dangerous and accounted for nearly one third of the total.
Mukundan said that if attacks rise substantially in the
Malacca Strait, underwriters may declare it a high-risk area.
"But I would like to stress that we are not anywhere near that
in the Malacca Strait," he said.
He also said the IMB disagreed with an international insurance
body which has declared the strait to be dangerous.
"We don't feel that is justified. At this time when the level
of attacks are coming down we don't see war justifications to
increase their rates. It may be appropriate when attacks were
high but it is not anymore," he said.
The Lloyd's Market Association's Joint War Committee in July
added the strait to a list of 20 areas worldwide -- including
Iraq, Lebanon and Nigeria -- that it said pose a security threat
to shipping. The LMA is an insurance body that advises members of
Lloyd's of London.