Pirates attack ships off Bintan island

Pirates attack ships off Bintan island

SINGAPORE: Pirates wielding long knifes attacked three container ships in Indonesian waters close to Singapore, injuring two crew members and stealing more than US$8,000, maritime officials said on Friday.

The attacks occurred close to the Indonesian island of Bintan earlier this week, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. Bintan lies a short ferry ride southeast of Singapore.

Members of the same gang are believed to be behind all three raids, which took place close to each other and shared similar methods, Choong said in a telephone interview.

Indonesian naval and police officials said they knew nothing about the incidents.

Indonesia, which has thousands of islands, accounted for 27 percent of the world's piracy incidents from January to September of this year, according to the center. --AP