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