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.