War on piracy fails to quell worldwide attacks this year

War on piracy fails to quell worldwide attacks this year

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Pirate attacks mounted worldwide in the first six months of this year, buoyed by Indonesia's sinking economy and straggling sea patrols, a monitoring group reported Thursday.

Southeast Asia remained a pirates' paradise, contributing 85 of 165 attacks across the globe from January through June, the International Maritime Bureau's Kuala Lumpur-based piracy watch center said.

The worldwide total was up slightly from 161 cases recorded in the first six months of last year, and 115 in the same period of 1999, the center reported in its quarterly survey.

"It is common knowledge that attacks originate from Indonesia," it said. "Declining economic conditions and lack of maritime patrolling have exacerbated the piracy threat in Indonesia and surrounding waters."

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, nevertheless recorded fewer attacks in the first half of this year - 44 off its archipelago's 13,000 islands compared to 56 in the same period of 2000.

Bandits picked up the slack in neighboring Malaysia, where attacks doubled from seven in the first six months of last year to 13 this year, despite the Malaysian navy boosting efforts to battle piracy.

The Philippines - struggling to contain cash-rich rebels rolling in ransom from chronic kidnappings - also grew more afflicted, with four cases reported so far this year compared to one in the first half of 2000.

During this period, Ghana also suffered a rise from no cases last year to 3 in 2001, while Tanzania went from one to 3.

Papua New Guinea, Trinidad, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Senegal, Iran and Iraq each recorded one attack in 2001 compared to none in the first six months of last year.

Three crew members were killed and 19 wounded this year in the six-month period under survey, the report said. None were killed in the first half of last year, while 13 people were injured.

The report said the war on piracy was hampered by differing opinions - while some governments want joint patrols, others say action against pirates is "best unilaterally undertaken by the state that harbors them."

"Governments continue to differ on how their waters should be policed and have resisted giving foreign government forces access to their territory," the report said, without specifying any countries.

The IMB advised ship owners to install satellite tracking systems that have proven helpful in recovering hijacked vessels. It also said that all suspicious craft should be reported to the Malaysian piracy watch center.