Seafarers press Indonesia to do more to battle piracy scourge
Seafarers press Indonesia to do more to battle piracy scourge
Agencies
Kuala Lumpur
Seafarers on Thursday urged Indonesia to clamp down hard on
pirates as waters around the Southeast Asian country recorded the
highest number of incidents in the first quarter of the year.
The total number of worldwide attacks rose 18 percent to 103
between January and March, from 87 in the previous corresponding
period, an international watchdog said in its report.
The Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center for the
International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said neighboring Indonesia
posted 28 attacks, the largest figure for any one country.
In January, the international watchdog said that the seas
around Indonesia were the worst in the world for pirate attacks
and warned that maritime terrorism could also become a reality.
IMB identified Indonesia's Gelasa Straits and Anambas Islands,
which recorded a large number of attacks, as being of particular
concern.
Pottengal Mukundan, London-based IMB director, lamented that
Indonesian authorities provided light jail sentences on pirates
compared to Indian and Chinese courts.
"Some countries have taken a tough stand in prosecuting
pirates. In contrast, the Indonesian authorities recently
sentenced the hijackers of Inabukawa to between two to four years
imprisonment," he said.
IMB said in February an Indian court sentenced 14 Indonesian
pirates to seven years hard labor each after being convicted of
hijacking the Japanese-owned vessel, Alondra Rainbow, off the
coast of Indonesia in October 1999.
"This decision marks a rare move by the national courts to
assume jurisdiction over crimes committed in international waters
and sets a precedent, which will help deter similar crimes," it
said.
But Mukundan hailed Indonesian authorities for the prompt
action to patrol popular pirate-attack areas, which had brought
an immediate reduction in attacks.
IMB said Chinese courts earlier this year jailed the hijackers
of the tanker Siam Xanxai for 10 to 15 years after they sailed
the vessel to China.
"It is this kind of response which will deter future pirates
from this trade," Mukundan said.
IMB urged seafarers to maintain high alert when they ply the
waters of Bangladesh (Chittagong and Mongla), India (Chennai,
Cochin and Haldia), Indonesia (Adang Bay, Anyer and Balikpapan),
Malacca Straits and Malaysia (Bintulu and Sandakan).
Other high-risk regions included Africa and the Red Sea, in
particular off Somalian waters, and waters off Brazil, Colombia
and the Dominican Republic.
The IMB said the shipping industry is also trying to safeguard
itself against terrorism, a threat underscored by the attack on
the French tanker Limburg by an explosives-packed boat off
Yemen's coast in October. The attack killed a crew member and
caused the tanker to spill 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of
Aden.
The IMB noted that Japan reportedly plans to protect its oil
supply by using coast guard vessels for the first time to escort
oil tankers heading to and from the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Malaysian police have intensified patrols in the
Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes,
between peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island. The
move follows the war in Iraq, which raised worries of potential
terror attacks, the IMB said.
"Maritime security and intelligence experts say that the
(Malacca Straits) are prime targets for terrorist attacks on
commercial shipping due to their economic importance, high
traffic volume, limited maneuverability," the IMB said.