Piracy surges worldwide in 2003

Piracy surges worldwide in 2003

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Pirates attacked more ships and grew increasingly violent in 2003, and seafarers will remain in peril unless countries such as Indonesia patrol their waters more stringently, a maritime watchdog agency said on Wednesday.

The shipping industry suffered 445 attacks last year, up 20 percent from 2002 with 370 cases, the British-based International Maritime Bureau said in a report by its piracy watch center in Kuala Lumpur.

Violence on the high seas also mounted, as pirates worldwide came increasingly armed with guns and killed 21 people last year, more than doubling the 10 deaths in 2002. The worst-hit countries were the Philippines, which reported nine casualties, Bangladesh seven and Indonesia two.

However, 71 crew members also went missing during various attacks in 2003, and this figure "should be considered along with the 21 confirmed killed," the Maritime Bureau's report said.

Indonesia accounted for 121 attacks across its sprawling archipelago, more than a quarter of the worldwide total. Also badly hit were Bangladesh with 58 attacks, Nigeria with 39 and India, which reported 27 cases.

"Unless Indonesia takes serious steps to police its waters, we don't foresee any drop in the number of attacks worldwide," Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting center, told The Associated Press.

Many of Indonesia's attacks were robberies and kidnappings for ransom, though authorities have been mystified recently by an "abnormal trend" of pirates who hijack tugboats and barges for unknown purposes, Choong said.

"We have no idea where the boats have been taken and what they're being used for," Choong said, speculating that the vessels might have ended up with Indonesian crime syndicates for smuggling activities.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks using commercial airliners, the center warned that ships such as tankers carrying explosive natural gas could be hijacked and used as weapons.

So far, those fears haven't been borne out but the threat persists, Choong said.

While port security in many places has been upgraded, the bureau warns that no shipboard response can protect seafarers from terrorist assaults.

Choong stressed that the Maritime Bureau had no specific information about potential terrorist threats.

At least 88 crew members were wounded by pirates last year, more than twofold the 38 injuries in 2002. Another 359 seafarers were taken hostage, compared with 191 in the previous year.

In its report, the bureau identified 27 ports and anchorages that were increasingly prone to pirate attacks, particularly Chittagong, Bangladesh; Lagos, Nigeria; Chennai and Cochin in India; Dakar, Senegal; Balikpapan, Indonesia; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.