Piracy on Asian waters a menace

Piracy on Asian waters a menace

SINGAPORE (AFP): Shipping experts yesterday warned against any let up in the fight against piracy in Asian waters as a cargo vessel came under attack in the seas off Indonesia.

Six marauders armed with long knives overwhelmed the crew of the vessel before fleeing in a small craft with US$12,000 in cash and jewelry, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.

An IMB official declined to identify the general cargo vessel but said the attack took place in the Selat Gelasa, also known as the Gaspar Strait, north of Java. The ship was on its way to Singapore from Indonesia.

"This case reported to us today exemplifies the need for continuous guard against piracy in this region," the spokesman for the IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based regional piracy center told AFP.

The Asian Shipowners Forum, an umbrella group for owners of vessels in the region, advised all ship masters to take appropriate precautionary measures in pirate-prone areas.

The IMB spokesman said that Asian nations should "not take things easy," even though the number of pirate attacks, particularly in the Strait of Malacca straddling Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, had decreased.

The narrow and congested strait was a hotbed for piracy two years ago until enforcement agencies pooled efforts to stem the menace, officials said.

Eighty pirate attacks were reported to the IMB regional piracy center so far this year compared to 103 cases for the whole of last year, the spokesman said.

"Eighty attacks are still a significant figure, especially when quite a number of these attacks were staged by armed pirates. Pirates are still a potential danger to ships and the safety of crews in this region," the spokesman said.

The Asian Shipowners Forum's committee for safe navigation said after its inaugural meeting here late Monday that ship masters should also report piracy attacks to their respective national shipowners associations for follow-up action.

"The meeting deplores all acts of piracy and armed intervention on merchant ships plying throughout the world," the committee, representing shipowners from 10 Asian countries and Hong Kong, said in a statement.

The committee was set up by the forum to monitor and help ensure the security and safety of ships worldwide, particularly those plying the Asia Pacific routes.

The committee is currently chaired by the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners' Associations (FASA) whose members are drawn from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.