Japanese Tugboat Crew Kidnapped in the Malacca Strait

The Japanese tugboat "Idaten" was attacked off Malaysia's Penang Island last Monday in the channel that separates Indonesia's Sumatra Island and the peninsula of Malaysia. However, the pirates released the three sailors, two Japanese and a Filipino, over the weekend after receiving a ransom payment from the Japanese tug company. The three sailors were released in the southern Thai province of Satun. Pirates had just released two Indonesian mariners, a captain and chief engineer who were kidnapped from a cargo ship, "KM Tri Samudra," two weeks ago. The International Maritime Bureau has reported 37 pirate attacks in the strait this year.