Singapore sounds alarm for piracy

Singapore sounds alarm for piracy

Agencies Singapore/Hanoi

Two pirate attacks against Singapore-bound commercial vessels last week have prompted a warning from the island-state's maritime authorities for ships to increase security measures against sea robberies.

Pirates boarded a container vessel 8,900-ton Turkish registered Border and Cape Haralambos, a bulk carrier registered in the Marshall Islands within two-and-a-half hours of each other in Indonesian waters near Karimun Island early in the morning on Jan. 29, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement received on Tuesday.

"Dealing with sea robberies requires concerted efforts by the relevant parties and authorities," the statement said.

"The shipping community should remain ever vigilant and ensure that anti-piracy plans and measures are in place."

It listed measures such as installing pirate intrusion alarms and closed-circuit television, as well as better lighting and surveillance techniques.

No-one was injured and the pirates netted a combined haul of only S$3,000 (US$1,775) of cash and valuables from both attacks.

But the incidents raised concerns about the ability of pirates and potentially terrorists to prey on ships in Southeast Asia.

The attacks occurred about 25 kilometers from Singapore waters in the Malacca Straits, which is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The London-based International Maritime Bureau said last month there were 28 piracy attacks in the Malacca Straits in 2003, up from 16 the previous year, and called on Indonesian authorities to do more to tackle piracy.

"A reduction in the attacks in Indonesia can dramatically change the situation in Southeast Asia," the maritime watchdog said.

Maritime and Port Authority spokesman Simon Ang said there had not been a piracy attack in Singapore waters for the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese officials said in Hanoi on Tuesday two separate pirate attacks off Vietnam's southern coast left one fisherman dead, another injured and five missing.

Pirates brandishing guns attacked a two-boat fishing crew of 17 men, killing one and injuring another before forcing the remaining 15 overboard in the Jan. 16 incident, said Nguyen Lam Son of the Department of Fisheries in southern Kien Giang province.

Thirteen men were rescued by other fishing boats while two remain missing, he said.

On Jan. 31, two other Vietnamese fishing boats were attacked by pirates, who forced 19 fishermen overboard, he said. An Indonesian ship rescued 16, but three men were missing.

According to descriptions by the victims, Son said authorities suspected the attackers were Thai, based on appearance and language.

The pirate attacks, which occurred in overlapping territorial waters between Vietnam and Thailand, were the first in five years, he said.