What pirate attacks mean

What pirate attacks mean

Mariners and shipping companies tired of pirate attacks dared hope that the Dec. 26 tsunami had cleaned out buccaneers and hideout coves along Sumatra's indented coastline. But the regenerative powers of this ancient breed of brigands are unhelpfully well celebrated.

They were back in the past week, seizing crewmen for ransom in separate boardings of commercial vessels in the Malacca Strait.

The view that the gangs could have been quiet because of the presence of multinational naval contingents engaged in tsunami relief operations in Aceh will bring no cheer. The last of the American relief ships departed Sumatra on Wednesday, as the Indonesian government had expressed a wish to have all foreign military involvement ended by this month. This is not a vacuum, but the new circumstances will place the littoral states' combined naval and marine police resources under great pressure.

Shipping firms should also not shirk their responsibilities in investing in shipboard security systems and satellite surveillance. -- The Straits Times, Singapore